Tales of the Legacy - Concluded

It took several drinks before the cansin started talking.

The Flaming Cauldron was located, not unexpectedly, near Grabâkh’s Temple of the Flaming Eye, and catered to the orcish patrons in the region with a variety of spicy dishes. The proprietors, however, offered milder versions of orcish favorites that were more palatable to non-orcs. It was over two plates of such cuisine, as well as a few glasses of potent greenish liquor, that Kyle and Lanara sat. Most of the meal had passed in relative silence, which in itself was very odd for the cansin bard. But it was oddities such as these that had brought them there in the first place.

When she finally started, it was obvious that she intended to speak without interruption, without questions.

“I left the docks, and turned my horse east into Medos,” Lanara began. “That much you know. But after a few days, I found I had a sudden urge to visit my father. Though I haven’t seen him in years, I knew that I might be able to find him in the area. My father has been a wanderer my whole life –I think he’s still looking for my mother, in some ways – and we’d spent our lives with the various hin clans in the Steppes. But as Dad got on in years, he began to spend more time on the Medos side of the Great River; it’s a bit safer there. So, I went off the main road, and began asking some of the hin clans in the area about him.”

Lanara paused to empty her glass before continuing. “It was about four days out of Miracle that I ran into the bandits. There were a lot more of them than I knew I could handle, even if I were Arrie. But I’ve traveled alone plenty of times in my life, and there’s more than one way to get around bandits. So, I pulled out every trick I knew. Figured that once they ‘understood’ that I was a friend, they’d let me go. It’s always worked before.” She stared out past Kyle’s shoulder into the crowd at the restaurant. “It’s always worked before.”

Lanara swallowed heavily. “I don’t know how they did it, but none of my abilities even seemed to faze them. It’s almost like they were ready for me. When I realized that it wasn’t working, I went for one of my wands – figured I could blast a couple to confuse them, then take off. But as I reached back for my haversack, it suddenly wasn’t there, and suddenly I was being pulled off my horse.

“They took me back to their ‘hideout’ – the kind of place I’d never be caught dead in, worse than any two-copper dive in any dock ward in Aelfenn. What happened after that…” Lanara took a deep, shaky breath. “To be honest, I don’t remember much. This coming from someone whose livelihood depends on remembering details. I’ll spare you the details of what I do remember, though if you tell this story to the others later you can assure Maddie that I wasn’t violated. I think that would have broken me. And I think they knew that, and they needed me somewhat sane.”

“I was tortured, Kyle. In more ways than I care to think about, and for how long I don’t know. But what I do remember is that they were asking questions about the party; about us. Where were we going, why were we going there, what had we been doing lately. I don’t remember the details, and I don’t remember what I told them. Past, present, future – it all became a blur to me. The only thing I know for sure I didn’t say was about Kavan becoming Madrone. It was like… there was something blocking me from saying that, from revealing her secret. So there’s something else you can tell Maddie to reassure her.”

Lanara picked up her glass, which had been refilled while she talked, and drained it in one swallow, wincing as the potent liquor flowed down her throat. “I don’t know how I escaped. Maybe a guard fell asleep, maybe they forgot to lock the door – maybe they just let me go because they were through with me. I managed to grab most of my gear, as well as this,” she pulled the rapier at her side halfway out of its scabbard, then let it fall back in, “and a couple other odds and ends, then grabbed a horse and went. Not even sure if it was my horse or someone else’s – I’ve never been a good judge of animals. I just rode and rode until I ran into a merchant caravan on their way to M’Dos. I gave them a very abbreviated version of the story I just told, and they let me ride with them into the city. One of them even gave me a little training with this rapier, just in case I was ever in that situation again. But it wasn’t until that night that I learned the worst part.”

Lanara set her glass down, her fingers visibly trembling. “I tried to play a little tune for the merchants – payment for the hospitality. But I found that I couldn’t remember any of my songs. The lyrics, the tunes… just gone. I haven’t been able to recall a single one since. And what’s worse, since then I find that I can’t stand being around other people. Can you imagine, Kyle? A bard who can’t sing and hates people? It’d be like if you suddenly forgot how to read.”

Lanara fell silent, and the noise of the Flaming Cauldron was all Kyle heard for the span of a minute or so.

“The thing I’m afraid of most,” Lanara finally said, very quietly, “is the next time we get ourselves into a situation. Without my music, I’m useless to you all, and I don’t think suddenly knowing how to poke holes in people is going to be an acceptable substitute. I don’t know what to do. I’m too old to learn a new profession. Should I just leave now?”

“No,” Kyle said firmly. “You stay. You stay, and we find a way to fix this. And you could never be useless, Lanara. We just have to find different ways to use you until we get you fixed.”

Lanara smiled, and chose not to comment on the fact that Kyle’s statement, while meant to be reassuring, made her sound like a service animal or a tool of some sort. “Thanks, Kyle,” she said.

“I’ve never heard of any kind of mental blocking like you’re describing,” Kyle said. “But it seems to me that it’d have to be either magical or psionic. I’m leaning to the latter, since we know psionics are very efficient at manipulating the mind. When we get back to the Whistling Mermaid, I’d like to take a close look at you though my staff, see if I can pick up any lingering auras that might explain this. Unfortunately, even if I find something, I doubt I can fix it, especially if it’s psionic. But maybe we can find someone who can fix it.”

“Yeah, that Aran seemed a decent fellow when we met him. Problem is finding him.”

“One step at a time. Let’s figure out what we’re dealing with first.” Kyle’s brow furrowed. “You sure you can’t remember anything specific? A name, a familiar voice, a symbol of any kind?”

Lanara shook her head. “I’ve tried, believe me. It’s maddening.”

“Well, maybe whatever’s affecting you will fade with time and it’ll get easier. Let me know if you remember anything.” Kyle paused to finish the last few bites of his lunch. “You know that I’m going to have to tell the others,” he said. “Normally I’d let your personal business be yours to deal with. But if these bandits were asking about all of us, then everyone should know that. For all we know, these people could be in the city now.”

“Tell the others whatever you want,” Lanara said, “if you don’t mind, this is one story I’d rather not recount myself.” Lanara finished off the last swallows of her drink, then held the glass up to the light, examining it. “This is pretty good stuff,” she said. “I may have to get a bottle to take back to the inn.”

“Allow me,” Kyle said with a smile.


The party sat and listened as Kyle relayed Lanara’s tale. They all sat in the women’s room; Lanara herself had gone downstairs to the common room to nurse her new bottle of alcohol.

“I tested Lanara when we got back. There’s no magical or psionic auras on her that I can detect. Which means that whatever did this to her has done its damage already; it’s not some sort of block.”

“Or, she’s simply suppressing her memories of whatever happened to her because it was so terrible,” Arrie suggested. “That may be why she can’t get to her bardic abilities, too.”

“Well, whatever the reason, now we know we have people after us,” Kyle said.

“We have always had people after us, Kyle,” Tolly said.

“Yes, but these people seem to be serious about finding us and knowing everything about us. Problem is we don’t know who ‘they’ are.”

“It is probably the psions,” Tolly said.

“Or the church of Qin-Chu,” Kyle added, “or the church of Fiel, or the church of Estranë, or the church of Grabâkh, or someone associated with Sauroth, or with Neville, or two or three thieves guilds I can think of.”

“I didn’t think Grabâkh had reason to be displeased with us,” Tolly said.

“Um, Tolly?” Osborn chimed in, “remember that undead orc warlord we destroyed? The one that was supposed to be imprisoned in his tomb forever so that he couldn’t go to the afterlife and be in Grabâkh’s presence?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Look, we’re not going to figure this out tonight,” Arrie said. “Besides, we have more pressing concerns.”

“I agree,” Autumn said. “For one, no one goes anywhere alone from now on.”

Everyone nodded their agreement. They also made some last-minute changes to their list of questions for Erito, to reflect the new situation with Lanara.

“So, Tolly,” said Autumn, “speaking of questions, what did you find out at the forges today?”

The cleric sighed. The party had originally planned to attempt communing with Erito and Ardara that morning, but Tolly had asked to wait until he’d spoken to some of the other priests and novitiates at the Cathedral to see what facts were known about Jerome’s death.

“I learned very little,” he reported. “There is a rumor that a resurrection was attempted, but that it failed. No one is certain why. Beyond that I can get nothing. That in itself is unusual; the church of Ardara has a very active network of information between its novitiates and lower-echelon priests.”

“So things are being kept quiet,” Arrie summed up.

“Indeed. Unfortunately, it means that I was unable to answer any of the questions we proposed to ask Ardara. So, we can proceed with the commune rituals. Though I would ask that we consult Erito first.”

“Not a problem, Tolly,” Maddie said. “Someone should go get Lanara, though.”

Just then, the door to the room opened, and three figures strode in. Two of them were golden-haired elves, who looked exactly alike and had longbows slung over their shoulders. The third, following behind them, was instantly recognized by everyone.

“Herion?” Arrie gasped.

“Ariadne,” he said, nodding. “It’s good to see you again. And all of you, as well.”

Behind them, Lanara came into the room and sat in the corner. “I saw we had company,” she said.

“Herion, what are you doing here?” Arrie stood and walked over to him, reaching up and lightly touching the mithral laurel on his head that signified his status as the crown prince of Tlaxan.

“Official state visit,” he said. “I’m here to extend the sympathies of the Empire of Tlaxan to the Church of Ardara for their recent loss. And to return this to you.” He reached into a pocket and retrieved a tiny silver bird statuette, which he gave to Arrie.

“I wondered why you asked what inn we were staying at in your last letter,” she said as she put the bird away.

Herion turned and nodded to Autumn. “A pleasure, as always,” he said to her.

Autumn smiled and bowed her head in return. “As always.”

Kyle smiled. “Well, at least she’s not trying to deck him this time.”

Autumn turned her smile to Kyle. “I haven’t been alone with him yet,” she said, though she clearly meant nothing by it.

Herion, by this time, had turned to address Maddie. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I assume you are Madrone?”

“Oh, right,” Arrie said. “Herion, this is Madrone, a favored soul of Erito. She joined us shortly after we lost Kavan. Madrone, this is Crown Prince Herion of Tlaxan, my husband.”

“A pleasure to meet you,” Maddie said, bowing her head. When Herion bowed his in return, Maddie smiled knowingly at Arrie.

“I was sorry to hear of your recent loss,” Herion said. “May Kavan’s soul find peace with our Goddess*.” Herion then turned back to Autumn. “It may please you to know that news of your own misfortunes has not reached the ears of the Covieres or the Verahannens. Nor any other news regarding your affairs.” At this Herion made the slightest of nods to Kyle.

Herion crossed the room and took an empty chair; his guards remained standing by the door. “I do hope I’ve not arrived at a bad time,” Herion said.

“Actually, your Highness,” Tolly said, “we were about to attempt communion with the gods.”

At Herion’s arched eyebrow, Arrie explained briefly their suspicions regarding the Archprelate’s death.

“Interesting,” he said. “Well, I have a few days before I’m expected to attend any official ceremonies. If there is anything I can do to aid you, please let me know. I would be remiss were I not to offer aid to a princess of Tlaxan.”

Arrie blushed a bit at being referred to as a ‘princess’, not because of embarrassment or modesty, but because the title simply seemed ill suited to her. “Why don’t you stick around and hear what Erito and Ardara have to say? Another mind on the problem can’t hurt.”

“Very well, I will stay.”

“Should I go downstairs and arrange for another room for you, Arrie?” Autumn asked.

“No, why? I’m fine here in the room with the rest of you.”

“I thought perhaps with your husband in town, you might find this room a little crowded.”

“Oh. Oh! Sweet Tor, no! I mean, we’re not…”

“I have already obtained lodgings elsewhere,” Herion said, stepping in. “I see no reason to disrupt your arrangements here.”

“All right, then,” Autumn said. “Maddie, I think we’re ready now.”

Maddie nodded, and got up from the edge of the bed where she had been perched. She sat cross-legged on the floor in the center of the room, adjusting her headband. The golden band was one of Erito’s relics, and allowed occasional contact with the goddess for guidance. This was only the second time the party had utilized it. Maddie concentrated for a moment, then closed her eyes. Nearby, Kyle sat at a desk over a sheet of parchment with the questions written on it, ready to record the answers. With a nod from Herion, the two guards slipped out of the room, closing the door behind them.

“Erito, hear me,” she began. “I beseech your wisdom.” Maddie took a deep breath, then asked the first question.

“Is it possible for us to determine the location of the area shown on my back using commonly available maps?”

The answer flowed out of Maddie’s lips as soon as she was finished speaking, seeming to cause the walls to shake even though it was very soft. NO.

“Is the location depicted on the map on my back on the continent of Affon?”

NO.

“Was the staff that Kyle carries created in pre-Cataclysmic times?”

YES.

“In regard to the message given to Kyle of ‘your family’s staff is older than you realize’, does the word ‘family’ refer to the Goodson family or direct ancestors thereof?”

YES.

“Will the meaning of the message given to Kyle become clearer if our party goes to the location shown on the map on my back?”

YES.

“Is my transformation into a female a permanent change?”

UNCERTAIN.

“Are the bandits that abducted Lanara on her way to M’Dos in any way associated with other enemies of the party?”

YES.

“Is the condition currently affecting Lanara’s abilities able to be repaired or healed?”

YES.

“Are the bounty hunters pursuing Xu currently in the city of M’Dos or within two weeks of arriving?”

UNCLEAR.

Maddie opened her eyes, and held out a hand. Kyle gave her the parchment he’d been writing on, and she glanced over it. In the midst of channeling Erito, she herself had been unable to hear the answers. Once she read the parchment, she handed it back. “So, what does it mean?”

“Well, it means one thing to me,” Kyle said. “Before this, I was going to say we should go look for that place on Maddie’s back. But it doesn’t seem likely we’ll find it.”

“Well, at least not easily,” said Osborn.

“Perhaps next time we should ask if this location is even on this planet,” Tolly said.

“If I may,” Herion said, “I have had the opportunity to observe similar communes when my late father consulted with the Imperial Priests. It was explained to me once that because the connection to the Goddess is imperfect, that only the most literal interpretation of the questions are possible, even if the Goddess would wish it otherwise.”

“Meaning…?” Lanara asked from the other side of the room.

“Meaning that wherever this map you refer to leads, it may not be on Affon itself, but could be on an island just off its shores.”

“Or in an underground cavern,” Osborn added. “Somewhere that wouldn’t necessarily get charted. So maybe it’s not as far as we think.”

“Well, at least we know that Lanara’s problem has a solution somewhere,” Kyle said. He grinned at the bard. “See? Told you it wasn’t permanent.”

“I was displeased to hear that Erito is not able to tell if the hunters are nearby,” Xu said.

“Well, in a way she did,” Kyle said. “If there were hunters already in the city, then she’d of answered ‘yes’. So we know they’re not here now. Though, they could arrive any day now.”

“Or later this afternoon,” Lanara offered.

“Or they’re in a ship in the harbor right now,” chipped in Arrie. “I think leaving you in disguise is a good idea.”

“So, what about all those questions about your staff, and your family?” Osborn asked.

Kyle shrugged. “Not much clearer. It was a message Maddie gave me from Erito shortly after… we met her. ‘Your family’s staff is older than you realize,” was all it said. Well, I knew the staff was old, and I suspected pre-Cataclysm just because of the psionic stuff, so I guess that’s confirmed. But that doesn’t really make it ‘older than I realized’. And as far as the family thing, well, at first I thought Erito was speaking more broadly, like ‘family of wizards’. But it seems like the Goodsons had a spell-slinger in the family tree at one point. Not that I see what good knowing that does me. Probably was a waste of questions.”

“I’m still not sure why you didn’t ask about where your family is,” Autumn said.

“Autumn, dearest, we talked about this already. Those kind of questions are kind of hard to phrase in a ‘yes-no’ format. And it’d be rude of me to take up questions about that when we only get so many at a time. Besides, if I took the time I could find them myself.”

“How?” Autumn asked.

“A scrying spell,” Kyle answered.

“Well, why haven’t you done it?”

“For one, I don’t have the spell. And my family's probably still in Targeth, and their sheild blocks divinations. Also, it requires a really expensive mirror to scry with.”

“How expensive could it be?”

As Kyle was about to answer, Arrie cleared her throat. “Children, perhaps you could argue about this another time?”

They both nodded and fell quiet. Arrie shook her head in mock exasperation. “Lovers,” she sighed. “Shall we move on, then? Tolly, are you ready?”

Tolly nodded and took his place where Maddie had been sitting. Without the benefit of a relic, he had to expend a portion of his own life-force to establish the interplanetary connection to Ardara.

“Was Archprelate Jerome murdered?”

UNCLEAR.

“Were psionics involved in Jerome’s death in any way?”

NO.

“Were other persons involved in the death of Archprelate Jerome?”

INDIRECTLY.

“Is Jerome’s death related to other instances this party has seen of attempts to take control of powerful groups?”

NO.

“Do the people indirectly involved in Jerome’s death intend to cause harm to other prominent figures within the next month?”

UNCLEAR.

“Was the death of Jerome caused for political gain or an attempt to gain power?”

UNCLEAR.

“Did Archprelate Jerome have information that he wished to pass on to Tolly Nightsleaving, which he was unable to communicate due to his death?”

YES.

“Was the selection of Archprelate Frelarr influenced by powers outside of the Ardaran church itself?”

UNCLEAR.

“Can the Ardaran Inquisition be trusted by the party?”

YES.

Kyle sighed as Tolly opened his eyes. “We’ve got to get better at phrasing these questions.”

“At least we can eliminate the psions as suspects,” Arrie said. “And it has nothing to do with anything we’ve seen before.”

“The part about Ardara being ‘unclear’ about Jerome’s murder is not reassuring,” Tolly said.

“Well, Ardara isn’t omniscient,” Maddie said. “None of the gods are. She can’t know the intent of those involved. Someone may have caused Jerome to die, but was it an accident, or was it intentional?”

“The fact that so much about his death is uncertain would imply that there is something going on behind the scenes,” Tolly said. “I think my initial suspicions were correct.”

“Okay, so, what does that mean?” Lanara asked.

“Before we go any further,” Kyle said, “I think we need to remind ourselves of something here. Technically, we came to M’Dos to be on vacation from adventure. This city’s chock full of priests and holy warriors who the Ardarans can call on. It’s possible, just possible, that maybe they’ll figure this out all by themselves without our help. So maybe we should back off, and wait for someone to ask for our help.”

“Are you implying that I should turn a blind eye to the suspicious death of my Archprelate?” Tolly asked accusingly.

“I’m implying that your Inquisition is already looking into it, and maybe instead of getting all worked up solving this ourselves, we let them do their job, and if they want our help they can tell us. We don’t have to fix every problem out there, Tolly. What you do on your own is your business, but I don’t think this needs to be a group focus until someone steps up with some information and asks us to be involved.”

“I agree with Kyle,” Lanara said. “Let them come to us.”

“Hey, where did Osborn go off to?” Arrie said, looking around. The hin was nowhere to be seen.

“He probably got bored,” Lanara said. “Why don’t we follow his lead and take this up tomorrow?”

“I will return to the Cathedral tonight,” Tolly said, “and will try again in the morning to learn what I can of Jerome’s death. The rest of you can do as you wish.” He stood, and walked out of the room.

“Okay, then,” Kyle said, standing up and offering his hand to Autumn. “I think I’ll head to our room.”

Autumn took his hand and squeezed it, then let go. “I’m going to stay here for a while longer.”

“All right, then,” he leaned over and kissed her. “Don’t be too long, sweet angel.” He turned and left the room.

As soon as he left, Arrie turned to Autumn and looked at her curiously. “And you’re staying here why, exactly?”

“It would be improper of me not to stay and converse with my sister’s husband and a member of the Imperial Family,” she replied.

Arrie grinned. “You know, proper behavior doesn’t keep the bed warm at night,” she said, winking. She got a pillow thrown at her in response.

“Well,’ said Herion, brushing an errant goose feather off his shoulder, “perhaps I should return to my own lodgings and allow the two of you to finish this conversation in private. Ariadne, I would appreciate the chance to spend some time with you, if for no other reason than to catch up in person rather than through letters. Autumn, you would be invited as well; I have news from Merlion that may interest you.” Herion then cracked the tiniest of smiles. “As long as you allow me to stand just outside of the range of ‘that mean right’ that Arrie has told me about.”

Autumn returned the smile. “Of course, your Imperial Highness.”

----------------------

* Herion does know that Kavan and Maddie are the same person, he's just playing dumb for the benefit of the guards.

Osborn returned to the inn late that night, having gone out for a bit of fun. Inthe morning, however, he knocked on Kyle and Autumn’s door. It was a few minutes before anyone answered.

“What’s up, Osborn?” Kyle said, opening the door a crack and sticking his head out.

“You seen Tolly?”

“He stayed at the Cathedral last night, and he’ll be gone most of the day,” Kyle said. “Why?”

“If you see him, let him know I’m looking for him. I have something that he’ll want to see.” The hin walked off.

Osborn finally ran into Tolly at dinner. Prince Herion had invited the party to dine with him at the private suites that the government of M’Dos had provided for the state visitors arriving for Jerome’s funeral. Word had been sent to the church of Ardara, and Tolly met the party there.

After dinner, Osborn pulled a piece of parchment out of a pocket and passed it to Tolly. “When I came home last night, I found that in my pocket,” he said. “I know it’s written in Dwarven, but I don’t know that language.”

Tolly took the note and read it. “You could have shown this to either Arrie or Kyle. They both know the dwarven language.”

“Yeah, but since I have a pretty good idea who it’s from, I thought you should see it first. You know, in case it like, explodes or something if you’re not Ardaran.”

“It is a simple message, nothing more,” Tolly said. “It reads, ‘If you and your companions wish to help, gather in the women’s room tomorrow at midnight.’ If you received this yesterday, then that would mean tonight.”

Kyle sighed, and set his elbows on the table while resting his chin in his palms. “This is because I said we shouldn’t do anything until someone asks us, isn’t it?” he said. Then, in a loud voice, he shouted, “I don’t think we should do anything until someone pays us a million gold pieces!”

“Each!” Osborn added.

“Kyle, please refrain from your blasphemy,” Tolly said. “So, it appears that the Inquisition may have a need for our assistance. Does anyone object?”

No one disagreed with Tolly. Arrie, sitting next to Herion, turned to him suddenly. “Hey, want to come along?”

“Arrie,” Tolly said, “I am certain that the prince has more pressing matters to attend to than getting mixed up in our affairs.”

“Actually, I’d be honored to offer what help I can,” Herion said. “My guards and I will meet you at your tavern at midnight.”

“Splendid,” Tolly muttered to himself.

Several hours after dinner, the party, Herion, and his twin guards gathered in the room shared by the women. They waited mostly in silence. Osborn sat in one corner, his back to the wall, watching the door. Lanara, obviously very fidgety, was in the opposite corner. Herion’s guards stood at attention, with their bows strung and an arrow resting in the string, alert for trouble.

Suddenly, Lanara shrieked, and pointed. Standing near the window, opposite the door, was a figure in heavy armor. A long scarf was wrapped around his head and face, obscuring his features. Tolly glanced at the figure's gauntlets, and as expected the left one was a slight shade darker than the right. The difference was too subtle to be noticed if you didn’t know what to look for.

“Brother,” Tolly said, nodding. Across the room, Herion waved down his guards, who were pointing arrows at the intruder.

The Inquisitor nodded slightly to Herion, a barely acceptable gesture of deference. Herion did not seem perturbed. “Prince Herion,” the Inquisitor said. Tolly recognized the voice as the same man who had visited him the other night. “Your presence is unexpected, but perhaps fortuitous.”

The Inquisitor turned to address Tolly. “Your inquiries, Brother Nightsleaving, have not gone unnoticed.”

“I am not surprised by that,” he replied.

“I recall you expressed a desire to aid us, and we find that we can use that aid. By tradition, the office of the Archprelate has been inured against our seeking. Anyone who carries the mark of the Left Hand is unable to penetrate the Archprelate’s secrets. It is an ancient protection established by Ardara Herself to prevent the Inquisition from ever assuming control of the church. But you, and your companions, suffer under no such limitations. Thus we would like to… hire you.”

Tolly nodded. “I myself require no compensation.”

“We expected as much.”

“The Crown also requires no compensation,” Herion said. Then, with a glance at Arrie, added, “and neither does the Crown’s family.”

Arrie only pouted a little.

“I would request, Your Highness, that this matter be kept on the level of a state secret,” the Inquisitor said. “The rest of you may request compensation as you see fit.”

Tolly leaned over to Kyle. “Are you satisfied, then?”

“Hey! The million gold pieces thing was a joke! I wasn’t serious!” Kyle frowned. “That’s it, I’m never telling another joke again.”

“Promise?” Tolly asked.

“Though your cooperation was expected, Brother Nightsleaving, this task falls outside the normal duties of your companions. Thus it is not unseemly for us to compensate them. We make this offer because you stated to us that you do trust your companions.”

“What do you wish of us?” Tolly asked.

“You will go to the Archprelate’s offices this very night, and see what you can learn there. Archprelate Jerome died while in his offices. The offices are warded against divinations, so we would require you to locate physical evidence and remove it.”

“What can you tell us of Jerome’s death that might help us?” Maddie asked.

“Archprelate Jerome was not murdered, but his death was not natural.”

“Why was a resurrection not attempted?” Tolly asked.

“Divinations revealed that Jerome’s spirit did not wish to return,” the Inquisitor replied.

“Did the Archprelate kill himself?” Herion asked.

“That is high on our list of theories. However, the reason why he would do so is unclear.”

“Perhaps an effect that altered his perceptions,” Tolly said. “We have encountered an undead creature with psionic abilities known as a Caller in Darkness, whose presence has not been felt on Aelfenn since before the Cataclysm. This creature had the power to drive a person to suicide.”

“But we already know that there were no psionics involved in his death,” Kyle said.

The Inquisitor nodded. “This was not a line of questioning that had occurred to us, as we are unfamiliar with these psionics. However, the presence of an undead creature in the Cathedral of Eminent Order would not have gone unnoticed. Also, given the considerable mental fortitude displayed by those who hold the office of Archprelate, I would rule out any form of mental attack. However, a sustained assault over time cannot be ruled out.”

Tolly turned to the others. “Any objections?”

Lanara sniffed. “Can I stand by the door?”

“If you do not wish to participate, Miss Rahila, the Inquisition does not require you to do so,” the Inquisitor said. “We only require discretion on who hears of this.”

“Lanara will come with us,” Kyle said, “won’t you?”

“Fine,” she sighed.

The Inquisitor produced a large sack and handed it to Tolly. “These are the keys and pass-stones you will need to get to the Archprelate’s offices,” he said. “I believe you know the way. We expect them all to be returned.”

“Can we expect guards or other security?” Herion asked.

“Nothing that the pass-stones will not allow you to circumvent.”

“I’ll need about fifteen minutes to get ready,” Kyle said. “Most of my spells are ready, but I’ve left some of my power unshaped. I can prepare a few spells that might come in useful.”

“That should be fine,” Tolly said. “Brother, is there anything else…”

But the Inquisitor was gone.

“I have to learn that trick,” Tolly said.

The party arrived at the Cathedral within the hour. They proceeded quickly past the guards and locked doors using the keys provided by the Inquisition, and soon were walking down the hall toward the Office of the Archprelate.

As they stopped outside the large stone doors, Tolly suddenly held up a hand. “There are voices inside,” he said. Herion, Osborn and Autumn also heard the voices. Osborn pressed his ear to the seam between the marble slabs. Kyle stepped back and cast a message cantrip on the party, allowing them to relay whispered messages through him.

“I can hear two voices,” Osborn said quietly. “They’re speaking Dwarven, I think. One’s a male, and sounds like a dwarf. The other sounds more like a human, or maybe an elf, but the accent’s strange.”

“Perhaps we should just go inside,” Tolly said.

“Tolly,” Xu said, “remember we are here to gather information. Information is not always best obtained directly.”

“A good point.” Tolly stepped up and took Osborn’s place, listening intently. “The male is Archprelate Frelarr’s secretary, Brother Siv,” he said after a moment. “The woman’s voice is unfamiliar to me.” After about five minutes, he pulled away from the door. “They are speaking about ways to manipulate the new Archprelate into doing what they want.”

Kyle relayed this to the others. “Now what?” Autumn asked.

“The church likely has prohibitions about simply slaying members of their clergy,” Herion pointed out.

“Yeah, good thing I’m not subject to their laws,” Osborn said.

“I should point out that we do have a certain implied level of clearance,” Tolly said, holding up the pass-stone that would allow them to enter the office. “And a body is certainly physical evidence.” He stood up. “I am going in. The rest of you, try to minimize your presence. Osborn, if you could…” he looked around and noted that Osborn couldn’t be seen. “Excellent.”

“I’ll stay out here and guard the corridor,” Arrie said. “Anyone tries to come out, I’ll knock them back into play.”

“Very good.”

Lanara stepped up, and her form shimmered for a minute. When it stopped, she looked like an high-ranking Ardaran priestess. She also cast a tongues spell on herself. “Mind if I tag along?”

“Not at all.”

Herion also stepped forward. “My guards and I will also accompany you,” he said, “the weight of the Crown of Tlaxan behind you may give them pause.”

“Very well. Anyone else?”

“Just let us know when to come in,” Kyle said.

Tolly reached out and pressed the seal into the door, which swung open silently. Across the room, two figures sat at the secretary’s desk. One was Brother Siv, and sitting atop the desk was an elf-touched woman, whose back was to the party. As Tolly, Lanara, Herion and his guards strode in, Herion’s gaze flickered to the sides of the rooms. He took a step back, and whispered something to his guards in Elven.

“May I help you?” Brother Siv said, concern furrowing his brow. The woman did not turn around, but kept her eyes on the desk she sat on.

“Is the Archprelate available?” Tolly said.

“No, he’s sleeping,” Siv said. “Why are you here?”

“I have the Crown Prince of Tlaxan with me, and I was escorting him through the Cathedral. We hoped that Archprelate Frelarr might still be awake. What are you doing here at this late hour?”

“I was discussing matters with a consultant,” Siv said.

“Consultant?”

“Yes, a funeral consultant, from the church of Erito.”

“Really? So, Brother Siv, the question is, why one would ask a funeral director how best to control the current Archprelate.”

Lanara closed her eyes in frustration.

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Siv said, laughing nervously.

“A nice attempt at deception, but a patent failure,” Tolly said.

Herion stepped forward. “It seems things have begun poorly here,” he said, hoping to defuse the situation but knowing it was probably too late. “The late hour, and all. I apologize for my escort being so forward. I had requested a tour of the Cathedral at a time when my presence would not cause too great a disruption. I asked if I could visit the Archprelate’s office, and he brought me here. Would that be possible? I understand it has a view of M’Dos that is nearly unmatched.”

For the first time, the woman spoke. “I’m afraid that it would not be possible, Crown Prince,” she said. She turned around, and everyone in the room drew their breath involuntarily. The woman’s beauty was unearthly, drawing everyone’s attention toward her. She wore a light, nearly translucent white tunic, with the holy symbol of Erito dangling low on her chest, just touching her cleavage. As she spoke, she ran her delicate fingers over the alabaster skin on her bare arms. “You see, only the Archprelate has a key to that office. And we would hate to disturb the new Archprelate at this late hour. Mourning for the former Archprelate and accommodating himself to his new duties have surely left him drained.”

While the conversation was going on, Osborn had moved to the door to the Archprelate’s office, still invisible. “There’s no lock,” he whispered to Kyle. “It looks like you can just open it.”

“It could be warded,” Kyle said. “Don’t touch it yet.”

“I am certain that you must have misunderstood our conversation,” the woman was saying. “we do have several arrangements to make. The church of Ardara is planning a rather large memorial service, as I’m sure you must realize. There are a great number of details to plan, and they require us to frequently work late.”

“Understandable,” Herion said. “My apologies for the intrusion.”

Tolly had stood silently while Herion and the woman spoke. He tried to focus his Talent and detect any auras of goodness in the room, but only a vague aura near the Archprelate’s office door registered to him, which he assumed to be Osborn. Still, the divination told him little that was useful; the church of Ardara was more focused on the ideal of Law, and Erito’s clergy did not ally themselves with any particular ethical or moral tenet. The elves would also not be inclined to such, being Erito’s patron race. It had been the only thing he could do without making it obvious he was scrying the room.

Lanara was also taking subtle actions, trying to move closer. She hoped to be able to get close enough to touch them, and cast a touch of fatigue spell on the secretary and the Eritan priestess in order to convince them to turn in early, allowing them to come back later.

“If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know,” Herion said, bowing deeply. With his head down, he whispered back to Kyle, “I can’t keep this up much longer.”

Kyle relayed the events to the others. “Do you need a distraction?” Arrie asked Herion, through Kyle.

“He says yes,” Kyle said after a moment.

Arrie suddenly stood up and let out a loud orcish war cry, which echoed down the hall and into the antechamber. Startled for a moment, the rest of the party moved quickly into the room. Kyle paused for a moment to throw an alarm spell into the hallway behind them, to warn them if reinforcements were coming.

The double doors swung wide as the party entered the room. Each of them paused as they caught sight of the elf-touched woman, momentarily dazzled by her beauty. Maddie, in particular, found it hard not to stare. “Maybe I should go to church more often,” she said to herself. Clearing her head, she cast a spell on herself, Tolly, Lanara, and Herion, giving them the ability to heal battle wounds.

The elf-touched woman’s charm was slightly muted, however, when Tolly strode up and punched her in the face. She staggered back behind the desk, arms held up defensively. “Dear Goddess! What are you doing?” she cried helplessly. Tolly paused, suddenly uncertain. She seemed ill-equipped to handle such a display of violence. A short distance away, the lack of combat prowess of Brother Siv was put on display, as suddenly eight daggers sprouted from his body. Siv gurgled, then collapsed with a wet slap against the stone floor. Osborn, who was now visible, almost looked sheepish.

Just as the party began to think that perhaps coming in with a full show of force wasn’t the best plan, two human figures appeared out of hiding and leapt at Tolly with kukris dripping with acid. One of the blades slipped under his armor and drew blood. Though Tolly’s spiritual training and close bond with the Earth had rendered him resistant to acid, he still felt a slight sting. At the same time, a pair of small, imp-like creatures appeared close to Osborn, and began to slash at him with claws.

Kyle finished came into the room, looking for Lanara so he could cast a protective spell on her. But then his enhanced vision caught something odd, the same thing that Herion had seen when he’d entered the room; there were four figures standing against the walls, two to either side. All four were wearing full plate and wielding huge double-handed warhammers, and all four were invisible. The four figures were moving into position to surround and flank the party. Kyle quickly cast a spell, summoning a whirling sphere of air. He sent it flying toward the nearest invisible warrior, knocking him to the ground and then sending him flying a short distance into the room. Everyone else saw the air sphere seem to zoom around to empty space, then heard a loud metallic crashing.

“What the…” Lanara said, drawing her rapier.

Their ambush spoiled, the four armored warriors moved to attack. As they appeared and charged in, Autumn’s eyes went wide. She recognized the symbols and designs on the armor. “Corrupters!” she shouted. There were few non-outsider groups that the Sentinels considered as true enemies; among then were the Corrupters, the antithesis of the Sentinel order, unholy warriors dedicated to evil in its purest form.

The corrupters waded eagerly into battle. One came after Herion, advancing even as his guards shot arrow after arrow into him. Another raised a mailed fist, and thrust it out defiantly. A burst of negative energy filled the room, and suddenly both Tolly and Maddie felt their connection to their respective goddesses cut off, as if a door had been slammed shut. Deterred only a moment, both of them drew weapons and attacked.

The corrupter that had been knocked flat by Kyle’s spell tried to rise. But Xu was right there, and knocked him backward into the air sphere again using her ring of the ram, battering him and sending the unholy warrior back to the ground. The last corrupter charged at Autumn, but rather than swinging his maul at the sentinel he reached out with one hand and grasped her arm. She wrenched away from him and slashed with her greataxe, forcing him back. She paused for a moment to see if the corrupter had cast a spell on her, but she felt nothing amiss. Then she summoned her own holy power, and sent out a burst of positive energy. Across the room, the two quasits that served as the corrupters’ fiendish familiars screeched and rapidly flew to opposite corners of the far wall, trying to get away from the hated aura of goodness.

Lanara moved forward, rapier at the ready, and began slashing at one of the two kukri-wielding humans, drawing blood. From behind, Maddie ran up trying to get at the woman on the desk, but her path was blocked and she ended up battling with the other man with the kukri. “I won’t allow you to profane the name of Erito!” Maddie shouted. The elf-touched continued to cower, begging for the violence to stop. And Arrie, still back by the door, scowled as she watched the battle unfold. “Next time, Xu watches the door,” she muttered. Then, in a flash of inspiration, she ran into the room, pulling the heavy stone doors closed behind her and barring them. “No one’s getting out now!” she shouted, hurling a shotput into the melee. Looking back, Herion sighed and shook his head. “Keep an eye on the Crown Princess,” he told one of his guards.

The center of the room became a frenzy of blades and heavy slabs of metal. Tolly, Lanara, and Maddie were pressed in between the rogues with the kukris and the corrupters. The others pressed in from behind them, trying to take the pressure off . Arrows and fiery rays flew through the Archprelate’s antechamber, and the sound of steel rang through the high-ceilinged room. Autumn, strangely, remained unchallenged. From the back of the chamber, the elf-touched ‘funeral advisor’ called out plaintively, her voice rising above the din of battle.

“You! Please, help me! Defend me, Sentinel!”

Autumn heard the words echo in her mind, and realized how much sense that made. She should be defending the poor, helpless Eritan priestess. She could get hurt. Autumn immediately dashed over, and took up a protective stance in front of the woman. The corrupters nearby stepped back, allowing her to pass unmolested.

Kyle and Osborn were the only who far enough removed from the battle to notice Autumn move. Though neither of them had seen any obvious spells cast, they were both experienced enough to know when one of their friends was under an unnatural compulsion. Osborne tossed a few daggers at the whimpering priestess, and was surprised when she barely seemed to flinch as the blades stuck into her leg, then were pushed out onto the floor as the wounds closed up.

Kyle’s reaction was a bit more zealous. “Leave her alone, bitch!” he shouted, and then uttered dark words. The woman’s deceptively helpless sobs turned into shrieks of agony, accompanied by the sound of snapping bone and tendon as Kyle’s spell began ripping her apart from inside.

Nearby, Herion and his guards finally felled one of the corrupters, the arrow-filled corpse tumbling stiffly to the ground. Xu pounded another one into a bloody mess, then turned to assist Arrie with a third. In the center, blows were traded back and forth evenly, blood dripping onto the stone floor from all combatants. But with two of their number down, and the ‘priestess’ incapacitated, the party had the advantage of numbers. This point was driven home when the elf-touched, who no longer looked as bewitchingly beautiful covered with purplish bruises and with limbs flying around at odd angles, suddenly lurched, fell face first on the desk, and vanished. Just before she disappeared, Osborn saw the false priestesses’ form shift into that of a nude woman with sharp horns, a long barbed tail, and reddish-black bat wings.

“Yikes!”

The death of their mistress had a demoralizing effect on several of the enemy. The quasits simply vanished, returning to their native home rather than wait to be destroyed. The rogues with the kukris tried to escape, breaking away from the melee skillfully, but were then caught by the party members waiting near the back and eliminated. Only the two remaining corrupters fought on, turning to attack Autumn as she shook her head to clear her mind from the suggestion.

“Protect the Duchess!” Herion shouted, and arrows flew at the corrupters, dropping them.

Silence descended in the room. After tending to wounds, the party began to move about the antechamber, searching for evidence of the plot against Jerome as well as collecting the bodies of the dead. Once Osborn described what he had seen before the false priestess had vanished, the party quickly identified her as a succubus, an extraplanetary being of pure Chaos.*

“Excuse me,” Kyle said to Herion as he walked by, “but what did you mean by ‘protect the Duchess’?”

“Autumn is a Duchess by virtue of marriage,” he replied. “Her sister is the Crown Princess, after all.”

Kyle looked slightly pale. Autumn, a Duchess? He wasn’t sure what that meant for her… or for the two of them.

“I’m going to have to learn to use the little fork at dinner, aren’t I?” he said, mostly to himself.

“Actually, Kyle,” Tolly said, having overheard, “using a fork in the first place would be a significant improvement.”


It was two days after Jerome’s funeral that the door to the Archprelate’s office opened, and Tolly walked in. Looking up from his desk, Archprelate Frelarr waved the young priest inside, then waited while the door closed behind him.

“Exalted,” Tolly said, kneeling.

“Rise, Brother Nightsleaving,” Frelarr said, gesturing for Tolly to stand. “Thank you for coming.”

“When the Hand of the Earth calls, I obey,” he said.

“Of course, of course. Please, come with me, Tolly.”

Frelarr turned and crossed the room, heading for a large statue of Ardara on the far side opposite the windows. The dwarf pulled a white marble pass-stone out from under his robes, and pressed it into a niche in the statue. With a grinding of stone on stone, the statue slid aside, revealing a staircase going up. Tolly followed the Archprelate silently up the stairs.

They emerged into the open air. Looking around, Tolly realized that they were standing on top of the Cathedral of Eminent Order. Surrounding them were lush, fragrant trees and flowering shrubs. Carefully manicured paths cut through the foliage, and stone benches and statuary were scattered about. From their vantage point, the entire city of M’Dos spread out uninterrupted around them; only the Infinite Spire of Erito’s temple rose higher.

“The Archprelate’s private gardens,” Frelarr said. “I was quite pleased when I learned about this particular secret of the office. In my days as a novitiate, I was tasked with tending the church’s fields. I never thought I’d look back on those days fondly.” He shook his head ruefully.

Frelarr gestured out at the gardens. “Most people don’t see this side of the church of Ardara, Tolly. They see the image we project; of cold, unyielding stone and metal, the immutability of Law. Most don’t stop to think that the Earth is also a source of life, of growth, defining the ways and methods by which that life may flourish.” Frelarr stopped next to a statue of a wizened female dwarf. “Archprelate Jovol**,” he said, patting her marble foot. “She was responsible for reforming the church after the Cataclysm. She was also the one who put the gardens up here. I think she placed it on the top of the Cathedral for a reason. Can you guess why, Tolly?”

Tolly thought for a moment. “I must admit that I cannot, Exalted.”

“I think she placed it up here, surrounded by the Air, to remind future Archprelates that we exist in balance with the other aspects of the world, not in conflict with them.”

“But, Exalted,” Tolly said, “the agents of Chaos that infiltrated the church…”

“Were serving their purpose, nothing more,” Frelarr said. “Much as we served our purpose by restoring order. The results were tragic, but necessary, Brother. Even Ardara’s church requires change from time to time, else we would stagnate and no longer be relevant in the lives of the people. It is the church who serves the people, Tolly, not the other way around. Never forget that.”

“No, Exalted,” Tolly said.

The Archprelate sighed. “I suppose it would be futile to ask you to call me Frelarr, wouldn’t it?”

“I fear that I am not quite ready for that much change yet, Exalted.”

“I thought that might be the case.” Frelarr sat down on a bench next to the statue of Archprelate Jovol, and looked up at Tolly. “But it is of changes that I wish to speak, Brother Nightsleaving. Service, and change. But first, I have something to tell you to pass along to your companions. I received the Inquisition’s final report on Brother Siv’s treachery. It’s marked ‘Archprelate’s Eyes Only’, of course.” Frelarr’s eyes gleamed, and he winked. “Want to know what it said?”

Tolly didn’t respond, so Frelarr continued. “Seems that Siv met the succubus through an acquaintance of his in the Church of Erito, someone by the name of Rek. That was about eight months ago. It seems that the succubus slowly corrupted Siv, led him down a path of temptation. The reports of some of the activities he was engaged in by the end were… disturbing.

“It seems that the succubus convinced Siv to start lacing Jerome’s drinks with a special form of insanity mist, one that was resistant to the magical wards in place around the Archprelate. It was slowly starting to eat away at his mind. But Siv apparently accidentally gave Jerome a dose that was far too potent, and in a fit of delusion he committed suicide.”

“I see,” said Tolly, “then I am glad we put a stop to him.”

“There’s more,” Frelarr said. “After Jerome’s sudden death, it seems Siv was able to manipulate the Prelate Council’s vote, and put in an old friend of his from the backhills of the Confederates as the new Archprelate. Apparently he thought that his friend would be easier to manipulate than Jerome.” Frelarr smiled helplessly. “So far the Prelate Council hasn’t decided to cast a new vote and oust me from the office. Ardara, it seems, has more confidence in me than Siv did.”

“I am certain that you will prove that to everyone in time, Exalted.”

“My thanks, Tolly. But now, on to other matters.”

Frelarr leaned back on the bench. “Word of your exploits has spread far in the church, Tolly. Farther than perhaps you are aware. The old gossip network of the novitiates has not suffered from recent upheavals in the church.” The dwarf grinned. “Already I have received inquiries from several offices within the church in regard to you, Tolly. Including one you may be familiar with. You remember Father Hadar, I assume?”

Tolly nodded. Father Hadar was the Tribute in charge of the church in Trageon, where he had been left as an orphan and raised to adulthood. Hadar was the closest thing to a true father Tolly had ever had.

“It seems that Father Hadar is getting on in years, and has petitioned the Archprelate’s office for a suitable candidate to succeed him. What would you think of that, Father Nightsleaving?”

Tolly tried to remain impassive, despite the flood of emotions that flowed through his bosom. “I will serve as the Hand directs, of course,” he said.

“I believe you would. Which is why I would like to present another offer.” Frelarr reached into his robes again, this time producing a small, flat box. Opening it, Frelarr held it up for Tolly to see. Inside was an adamantine seal emblazoned with the left gauntlet that represented the Inquisition superimposed over the diamond that symbolized the Archprelate’s office.

“Recent events have demonstrated to me a small but significant flaw in our procedures. The prohibition against the Inquisition involving itself in the affairs of the Archprelate is still a necessary check to their power, but it also gave the succubus the opportunity she needed to subvert and assassinate Jerome, and hampered the investigation following his death. I realized that we needed some way to be able to investigate crimes against the Archprelate; thus, with the consent of the Prelate Council, we have created a new office; Inquisitor Primus.”

Tolly studied the sunlight glinting off the seal as Frelarr continued. “The office would be filled by one, and only one person. Though not subject to the same immunity to Inquisitorial proceedings as the Archprelate is, the Inquisitor Primus would not be answerable to the Inquisition for their authority… in fact, would not be answerable to anyone, even the Archprelate themselves.”

Frelarr paused to let the gravity of this sink in. “The Inquisitor Primus’ one and only job would be to protect the sanctity of the Archprelate from corruption or subversion, whether from within or without. That would include full access to the Archprelate’s offices, private chambers, and even private gardens.” He smiled again. “No need to make the job too tedious, right?” Frelarr fixed Tolly with a level stare. “The person who fills this office would have to be a person of impeccable character, who is beyond reproach. Brother Nightsleaving, I offer this position to you.”

Tolly was stunned into silence, and his knees nearly buckled. “Exalted,” he stammered, “please, I am not worthy…”

“The fact that you don’t want this job only proves that you are well-suited for it,” Frelarr said. Before Tolly could speak again, the Archprelate held up a hand. “But there is one complication that we must consider, first. Or, to be more accurate, seven complications. And a dog, I believe.”

“My companions,” Tolly said.

“Yes. You have an obligation to them, as well. And I suspect a great deal of respect and friendship, else you would not have been with them this long.”

Tolly could only nod his agreement.

Frelarr stood up, snapping the case closed. “Tolly, I am not ordering you to accept this position. You would have to want it, without reservation. I wish for you to return to your friends for now, and think about this. Think, and pray for guidance.”

“I will, Exalted,” Tolly said, kneeling.

“That is all I can ask, Brother.”


------------------------------------

* Though it's been mentioned before, it's worth reminding readers that in this campaign world, demons are 'always Chaotic', not 'always chaotic evil'.

** For fans of Sepulchrave... yes, I did steal the name. And I'll do it again!

good going...

another great update. one guestion, is the Inq...a PrC or just RP Fluff?

djrdjmsqrd said:

another great update. one guestion, is the Inq...a PrC or just RP Fluff?

Click to expand...

There is an Inquisitor prestige class (Complete Divine, I think?), and Tolly does end up taking the class. At this point in the story, though, the job of Inquisitor Primus is just fluff, a title and position that I made up. The metagame reason for this job offer will become apparent within the next update or two.

yeah...

it is from ComDiv, I was wondering if you were going to use that, I have not seen the PrC in play anywhere yet.

I do have to a say that it was a very very creative way of getting Tolly into that PrC IMHO.

djordje

Farewells

This update's a bit on the longish side, but it works better IMO if it's not split apart.

----------------------------

The Church of Ardara expected to garner a lot of attention during the Earthturning festival. After all, they were Ardara’s holy days. Preparations had been underway for months at the Cathedral of Eminent Order to handle all the expected visitors.

With the funeral for Archprelate Jerome being held during this particular Earthturning festival, the Church of Ardara was nearly overwhelmed. But, true to her nature, the Church did not bend or yield, but weathered the storm of dignitaries, mourners, and merrymakers with stoic calm.

The party stood with Prince Herion inside the large canopied area that had been set aside for the Tlaxan delegation for the funeral ceremony. Unable to accommodate everyone at once, even inside the massive Cathedral, the church had decided to hold it in the city’s parade grounds, hastily building the necessary structures to contain the crowds.

The prince stood quietly, surrounded by aides and advisors all adorned in traditional mourning white. The party, some distance from Herion, had the luxury of being able to converse quietly during lulls in the benedictions and eulogies. Tolly was noticeably absent, as he had joined the other clergy in the open field just in front of where Jerome was being displayed. The party looked around at the other delegations gathered there; there were envoys from Targeth, the Dwarven Confederates, the Peca Provinces, Sargia, the Red Archipelago, and smaller groups from the cities of Freeport and Miracle. There was even a trio of diplomats from Xhintai present. On a balcony overlooking the stone dais where Jerome’s body lay, the party could see the heads of the other churches sitting, watching the proceedings. Even the head of the church of Erito, the reclusive woman known only as The Serenity, was present, her white mourning robes in stark contrast to the long cloak of black raven feathers on her shoulders.

“Who’s that?” Osborn whispered to Autumn, pointing at a masked figure on the far end of the line of high priests.

“That is Master of Serpents Giova Maceré,” she replied quietly. “Head of the church of Qin-Chu.”

Osborn frowned. “What good is wearing a mask if everyone knows your name?” he asked.

“All of the Masters are named Giova Maceré,” Maddie said, leaning in to join the conversation. “It was the name of their first Master of Serpents, supposedly, though who knows if that was even his, or her, real name either. Anyone who ascends to the highest rank of Qin-Chu’s church, man or woman, takes Giova’s name as their own.”

Osborn nodded. “You know a lot about the church of Qin-Chu.”

Maddie frowned. “It’s a subject I have a mild interest in.” There was little doubt that her interest revolved more around her bastard son Marrek than around the Master of Serpents.

The sun was well below the horizon by the time the funeral ended. “Well, that’s another Earthturning gone to waste,” Lanara complained as they walked home.

“There’s still tomorrow,” Arrie said. “And my birthday’s coming up three days after that.”

“Hooray!” shouted Maddie, “another excuse for mayhem!”

“Are we expecting Tolly back tonight?” Kyle asked.

“No, he’ll be at the Cathedral the next two nights,” Autumn said.

“So, exactly like the past few weeks,” Lanara observed.

“He’s got some big projects he’s working on,” Kyle said.

“So do you, and I occasionally see your face, though it’s usually attached to Autumn’s.”

Kyle smiled and only flushed a little. “Making a maul’s a little more time-consuming than writing scrolls, you know.”

“And the recent unpleasantness with the succubus must have set him behind, too,” Arrie pointed out.

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s getting a hand cramp signing autographs for the neophytes,” Lanara huffed, but then let the subject drop.

“So, when are we all leaving?” Osborn asked a short time later.

“On the tenth,” Arrie said. “That’s when Herion’s leaving, and he’s offered to take us across the channel to the mainland on his ship. From there we’re going… where, again?”

“To Stacks,” Maddie said, “it’s about two days north of the harbor town where we’ll be landing.”

Osborn sighed. “I can’t believe they actually named a library city ‘Stacks’.”

“It technically has another name,” Maddie said, “but it’s been called by that nickname for so long that even the Eritan priests who live there call it by that name.”

“Well, whatever its name, it’s the best shot we have at figuring out where Erito’s secret spot is,” Kyle said.

“And it will kill some time until Maddie can use that headband again,” Arrie added, “so that we can ask Erito about how to fix our broken bard.”

“Wonderful,” sighed Osborn, “we get to sit in a library.”

“They’re not so bad,” Lanara said, “if you know the right books to read.”


The day before they were to set sail, Tolly changed everything.

The party was seated around their usual table for breakfast, talking in an animated fashion as they ate. Arrie and Maddie were discussing plans to squeeze in one more night of revelry before hitting the road again. Autumn was also trying to participate in the conversation, but kept getting interrupted by an amorous Kyle, whose behaviors prompted the hurling of muffins on more than one occasion. Lanara sat at the far end of the table, scowling into her mug of watered-down wine and wishing that the inn started serving ale before ten bells. Xu, on the other end of the table, was also quiet, though this was nothing unusual for her and so did not draw attention. Osborn simply interjected himself into whatever conversations he could, and when he couldn’t he ate bacon and petted Rupert. Tolly’s seat was empty; as expected, he’d gone to the Cathedral early that morning for services and breakfast with the priests. Thus everyone was quite surprised when he walked into the Whistling Mermaid and stood quietly behind his chair, waiting patiently.

“Good morning, Tolly!” Arrie said when she saw him. “Didn’t expect to see you!” When she saw the serious look on his face, though, she dropped what she was going to say and fell quiet. The others soon followed suit.

“I have something to tell you all,” he said. “A few days ago, the Archprelate offered me a new position within the Church. I have decided to accept it. Thus, though I have enjoyed my time with you all, I will no longer be traveling with you.”

For a while, no one moved or spoke. Then Lanara spoke. “Gee, there goes all the fun and games.” A second later, she yelped as Kyle smacked her in the shoulder with his open hand.

“Kyle,” Tolly said, looking down at the wizard, “violence?”

“It’s been known to happen,” Lanara answered for him, rubbing the sore spot on her shoulder.

“What sort of position?” Arrie asked.

“I am going to be serving as an… aide, you might say, for the Archprelate. I have already begun some of my training – it was felt that even if I declined the position, the skills would serve me well.”

Autumn looked at Tolly, her eyes locking with his. “Tolly, did you decide to accept this position because of the conversation you and I had in Miracle?”

Tolly stiffened for a moment. “Not entirely,” he admitted. “It is a position of great responsibility, and I believe I can do more good for the church here than I can traveling.”

“Damn, he sounds full of himself,” Lanara muttered to herself, but not too quietly.

“If you feel you can reach greater spiritual enlightenment upon this path, Tolly,” Xu said, “then I support your decision.”

“Thank you,” Tolly said. He looked around at the others. “If you need anything, just send word and I’ll see what I can do. But otherwise, this is where we part ways. I will miss you all.”

There were murmurs and shouts of agreement around the table. Only Lanara was silent.

“I wish to impart a few items to you before I go,” Tolly said. “I would like to give this to Madrone.”

He walked over and placed a small green feather in front of Maddie; she recognized it as a magical feather token, identical to the one he’d used to place an oak tree in the yard of their townhouse in Miracle. “Now you can have a second treehouse wherever you may wish,” he said to her.

Maddie stood up, threw her arms around Tolly, and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you!” she said, voice a mix of joy and sadness.

Next Tolly moved to Kyle, and handed him two pearls. “Pearls of power,” he explained. “I found that I never had a use for them. I assume you will not have that problem.”

“Wow, Tolly, thanks,” Kyle said, fingering the two pearls. “I feel kind of bad that I don’t have anything for you. Tell you what; next psionic item we find, I’ll smash it and send you the pieces.”

Tolly smirked. “I will try to remember that fondly, Kyle. I will try.” Next he moved to Arrie, but she held up a hand before he could say anything.

“The best gift you can give to me, Tolly, is to continue to be a moral compass to guide me should I need you.”

Tolly nodded. “I shall do my best.” Next he went to Lanara, who seemed somewhat surprised he was standing in front of her at all. “I have another feather token for you,” he said, setting it on the table in front of her. “It creates a boat. Just in case.”

Lanara stared down at the tiny feather in front of her. “How appropriate,” she sneered. “And here I was going to buy the last round.” She looked up at him. “I’d say you’re a good man, Tolly, but you’re barely old enough to qualify.”

“That’s probably true,” Tolly said, not rising to the bait. But as he moved on down the table, Kyle scowled at her. “You’re nastier than normal today,” he said. “What’s the matter with you?”

She shrugged at him and turned to watch Tolly walk up to Osborn. “I have nothing tangible to give you, Osborn,” he said. “Little of what I find useful would interest you. But my new position does give me certain privileges. From this day on, present yourself at any church of Ardara in Affon, and you may receive a rack of bacon from them. Just be sure to give them enough time to procure it.”

“Well, gosh,” Osborn said. “I guess you’ll want this back, then.” He held out Tolly’s coin purse, smiling.

“I thought you said you weren’t a thief,” Lanara said.

“I’m not. It doesn’t mean I don’t know how. I’ve only had it for about a minute, anyway.” He tossed the purse to Tolly. “You know how us hin are, you know.”

Tolly half-smiled, half-scowled. “The Inquisition is teaching me all of your tricks,” he said.

“Yeah, unfortunately you still won’t be as good as me,” the hin replied.

“Probably not.”

Tolly next went to Xu. “I know better than to present you with material gifts,” he told her. “But I offer this; should you ever wish to return home, the church of Ardara will pay your expenses for the voyage. My gift to you is hope; hope that one day you will be free to make that voyage without fear.”

Xu bowed in gratitude. “Many thanks to you, Tolly,” she said.

Finally, Tolly came around to Autumn. He untied a large mace from his belt, and presented it to her. “Since you never did return the old mace that I loaned to you, I assume that you need a spare weapon of some kind. This one should serve you well, especially against the forces of Chaos. Hopefully you will use it from time to time, and remember that we once stood together.”

Autumn looked straight at Tolly for a long time. Then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, kissing him quickly on the cheek as Maddie had done. Then she turned and went upstairs to her room, not running but definitely moving quickly.

Arrie began to rise to follow, but Kyle waved her down. “I’ll go see,” he said, getting up and following Autumn upstairs.

“Well, then,” Tolly said. “I will be returning to the church to oversee the preparation of my new offices. Again, it has been an honor knowing all of you. May Ardara’s grace bring you strength in adversity.” With that, he turned and walked to the door. He turned back just as he reached the arch of the door. “I almost forgot. Yesterday an elf with a bow was at the Cathedral. He bore documentation from the church of Erito, and he was looking for Madrone. I told him you can be found here.”

With that, he stepped through the door, and was gone.

Tolly looked around at the street outside, at the people going about their business. So much to do, he thought. I am not even officially Inquisitor Primus, and already there is so much. I must hurry back to the Cathedral. There will be time for grief later.

He was halfway down the street when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw Lanara standing a short distance behind him. The Ardaran and the cansin stood looking at each other for a while, neither speaking. Finally, Lanara reached into a belt pouch, and handed a flask to Tolly. Looking at it, he saw it was the flask of stonebreaker acid she had always carried.

“I figured you’d have more use for it than me,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes. “You know, if you needed to etch something, or build a wall, or whatever you do for fun.”

“Thank you,” Tolly said, closing his hand around the flask.

“Yeah, well…”

The two of them stood awkwardly in front of each other, neither sure of what to say. Finally, Tolly put the acid away. “Goodbye, Lanara.”

“Goodbye, Tolly.”


The rest of the day was far more subdued than anyone had anticipated. Kyle and Autumn returned downstairs after a few minutes; Kyle would later confide to Arrie that Autumn had been upset by the thought that her rejection of his suit had been a factor in his decision to leave the party. That evening they stayed at the inn, sharing stories of their time with the straight-laced Ardaran.

As they sat quietly around their table, a lone figure approached, making no move to hide his approach or his interest in the party. He was a tall elf, with long black hair and a composite bow strung across his shoulder. His armor and clothing had the look of someone who had been in the wilderness a very, very long time. Piercing green eyes looked the group over as he came to the table, finally resting on the other elf at the table.

“Well, hello there,” he said, his voice heavy with the accent of a man who has spent much of his time far away from the cities. “You a favored soul, church of Erito, name of Madrone?”

Everyone grew quiet, and several hands dropped out of sight below the table. “And who wants to know?” Maddie asked calmly.

“Name’s Razael Fletcher,” the elf said. “Been looking all over this city for you. There was this young priest who told me that you’d be at an inn, and he told me where the inn was….”

“Uppity guy in plate mail?” Lanara asked.

“That’d be him. He don’t know the city well, does he?” Razael looked around at the others, then pointed at Autumn. “You’d be… Duchess of something or other, I forget what they told me.” Then he looked over at Arrie. “And ain’t you the lass who’s married to the Crown Prince?”

When Arrie nodded, he grinned. “Good, I found the right group.” Razael promptly sat down at the table, and flagged the waitress down. “Next round’s on me,” he called out. “How y’all doing?”

“I like him,” Lanara said.

“Um, do you have some… documentation for me?” Maddie asked.

“Oh, sure, you want to see the scroll?” Razael pulled a scroll tube out of one of his many pockets, and handed it to Maddie.

“We’ve had… trouble with strangers recently, you understand,” Maddie said as she broke the seal on the tube and pushed out the parchment inside.

“We could at least drink his first round before we check his credentials,” Lanara said.

Maddie read through the scroll, frowned, and rolled it back up. “So,” she said, putting the scroll down, “why does the church feel I need a bodyguard?”

Everyone looked at Maddie, then at Razael, then back to Maddie.

“Because you’re so damn sexy now!” Lanara said at last.

Razael himself only shrugged. “I don’t know. They sent me out, because I was volunteered for it.”

“Everyone else stepped back, eh?” Maddie said.

“Something like that.”

From somewhere on Razael’s back came a noise, and a black raven’s head popped out from under the flap on the elf’s knapsack. As the bird popped up and landed on Razael’s shoulder, Kyle’s familiar Violet flapped her wings and cawed.

“You match our wizard!” Arrie said. “His name’s Kyle Goodson, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you, Kyle,” Razael said, nodding.

Arrie continued the introductions. “This is Lanara,”

Razael looked the cansin over. “You’re cute,” he said.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” came the reply.

“And that’s Osborn,” Arrie went on.

“A hin?” Razael seemed somewhat surprised. “Herion never mentioned the hin.” He turned back to Arrie. “Do you not write about him?” Shortly after he said it, Razael clamped his lips shut as though he’d said something foolish. “Oh, I’m not supposed to talk about that, am I?”

Arrie ignored the elf. “And the silent one is Xu.”

“Wow,” he said, seeing the monk for the first time, “didn’t even see her.”

“As was previously mentioned,” Xu said, “trouble with strangers.”

“Well, maybe that’s why they sent me.”

“Basically,” Arrie said, pointing back to Xu and Osborn, “it’s ‘unobtrusive and hits people’ and ‘unobtrusive and hits people’.”

“And ‘obtrusive and hits people’,” Kyle added, pointing to both Arrie and Autumn.

Maddie looked over at Osborn. “Yes, he hated it in Miracle.”

“I’ll bet,” Razael drawled. “I hated Miracle when I was there, about two hundred years ago.”

Maddie looked confused. “Miracle hasn’t been around that long.”

The confusion spread to Razael’s face. “Really? It hasn’t? I could’ve sworn…” He shook his head. “You lose the years.”

“No, the city was created within my lifetime, and I’m not that old.”

“Well, what are you, about two hundred? Two hundred ten?”

“I fairly recently turned one hundred and four,” she replied.

“You are?” Razael looked Maddie over again, this time with a different look in his eye. “You’re barely an adult,” he said quietly.

“I’ve had an excess of experience in my short years,” she replied.

Arrie broke in. “All right, so… you’re going to just follow Maddie, and…?”
“You know, the church just threw some money at me and said ‘Go escort our newest Favored, because Erito has commanded us to send someone’. So they sent me.”

“I’m still trying to find this money that gets thrown at people,” Osborn joked. In response, Kyle tossed a silver coin at the hin, hitting him on the forehead. “Thanks,” Osborn said sarcastically, rubbing his head as he pocketed the coin.

“Trust me, it was spent well before I got here,” Razael said. “I got to remember to keep my eye on the shell with the ball better next time.”

“No,” Osborn said, “you keep your eye on theirs.”

“Why’s that, boy?” Razael asked.

“Because if you’re not watching them, they’re trying to figure out how to steal your coin purse.”

“Good advice,” Razael agreed. “So, what’re you all up to?”

“Well, actually,” Kyle began, “we’re…”

“I think it’s time for a girl-orgy upstairs!” Arrie announced suddenly, pulling Autum to her feet. Maddie and Xu began to rise as well, but Lanara was still sitting, admiring Razael’s lean frame.

“Lanara, girl orgy upstairs!” Arrie repeated.

Razael turned to Kyle as Lanara got up. “How often does this happen?”

“Often enough to make you wonder,” Lanara said slyly as she sauntered by on her way to the stairs.

“Too often,” Kyle said as the women left. “They’re going upstairs to talk. They’re always going upstairs to talk.”

“You get used to it,” Osborn sighed.

Upstairs, the women gathered in their room. “Maddie,” Arrie said, “it’s not that we don’t think it’s great that Erito wants to protect you, but how do we know this Razael is legit?”

“The parchment he gave me,” she replied. “The message contained code-words and certain turns of phrases that my church uses in communications to verify them as genuine. A forger wouldn’t know them.”

“So, if he was sent by both the church of Erito and my husband, I suppose we’re bringing him along, aren’t we?”

“Pretty much, yes. It’s kind of hard to tell the church ‘thanks, but no thanks’.”

“All right,” Arrie sighed, “I just wanted to make sure. So, girl orgy over?”

“Not quite,” Lanara said, holding up a pillow.

As the women came downstairs a short while after leaving, Razael looked at Kyle curiously. “Why do they all have goose feathers on them?”

Kyle sighed. “They do it on purpose because they think they’re playing with our heads,” he said. “I haven’t got the heart to tell them the effect wears thin after the twentieth time. And the worst part is that they’ll make me use mending to fix it.”

“What are we doing on purpose?” Lanara asked.

“I refuse to comment.”

“But you already did, Kyle,” Arrie pointed out.

“I refuse to comment further.”

“You know, Kyle,” Razael said, “you could always just not prepare that spell.”

“Autumn has other means,” Lanara said.

“This is true,” Arrie agreed. “My sister can be very, very persuasive.”

Autumn grinned at Arrie and at Kyle, but Razael just stared back and forth between the wizard and the sentinel. “You’re sleeping with the Duchess?” he said to Kyle.

No one reacted for a moment. “Wow, and I thought I was bold,” Lanara commented.

“Autumn and I are together, yes,” Kyle said.

“Good for you,” Razael said, grinning and winking at Kyle.


They spent the rest of the evening getting to know Maddie’s new protector. They learned that he was a tracker, and had served as a bounty hunter most of his life as part of Tlaxan's Imperial Huntsmen. Herion had recommended him to the church for the job of guarding Maddie. It was late by the time Razael retired to his own inn, but he was back bright and early, packed and ready to go the next day. It was the day they were leaving M’Dos.

The party stood at the railing, watching the many ships berthed at the harbor coming and going. Behind them, elves were moving quickly across the deck of the Imperial galleon Intrepid, readying it to get underway. The voyage to the mainland would take a day, and then the ship would turn north and return to Tlaxan. Herion was below decks, in his private cabin, conversing with the captain.

“You know,” said Maddie, “the last time I left M’Dos, it was as a runaway prostitute with a head full of fear and bad memories. It’s nice that this time I can look back at the city with a smile on my face.”

“Did you ever look for your father?” Kyle asked.

Maddie shook her head. “I found that I couldn’t really see the point.”

Farther down the railing, Xu’s eyes suddenly went wide, and she bolted away, dashing across the deck and disappearing below decks. The others looked at other in confusion, and tried to figure out what had spooked her, but all they saw were rows of ships in the harbor. Autumn went downstairs to look for Xu. She found the door to her cabin slightly ajar, but upon going inside found it empty. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a slight noise above her, and looked up. Xu was there, wedged between the ceiling beams, ready to drop on anyone who came into the room.

“What’s wrong, Xu?” Autumn asked. “I’ve never seen you react like that.”

Xu swallowed, still looking quite pale. “One of the ships in the harbor bears the markings of the man who would be my husband, Lord Hungai. The sight affected me more deeply than I expected.”

“Well, then, it’s good that we’re leaving.”

“Indeed. But to know that he is so close…”

“Do you think Hungai himself is on that ship?”

She shook her head. “Difficult to say. It is unlikely, but not impossible.”

“Will you be all right?”

“Yes, thank you. But please, allow me to remain here alone for a few minutes. I will need to find my center again.”

“Of course,” Autumn said, and stepped out of the room. She went back up to the deck, where the others waited expectantly.

“Is it about… what we think it is?” Kyle asked, flicking his eyes toward Razael as he asked the question. Though the party had agreed to let him accompany them, they had decided not to necessarily reveal everything that was going on all at once. Razael, for his part, seemed to understand this and said nothing about it.

Autumn nodded to confirm their suspicions. “One of the ships in the harbor has his markings.”

“Really? Did she say which one?” Kyle looked back out across the water.

“No, she didn’t.”

“Guess that means you’ll have to fireball them all, right Kyle?” Lanara said with a smile.

“What exactly kind of trouble do you all get into?” Razael asked. “I’ve never seen a monk just take off like that. What exactly is it that y’all are involved in?”

“Oh, it’s more of a personal issue for Xu,” Maddie said, “one we’re choosing to avoid for now.”

The ship was setting sail less than an hour later. They reached the mainland well after dark, pulling in to a berth on the northern end of the harbor. The town where they made port had no name of its own, and was considered part of M’Dos; its sole reason for existing was to transfer people and goods coming from the rest of Medos and Affon to the island, and vice versa. There were few amenities, and the few inns were all full by the time the Intrepid made port. So the party ended up sleeping aboard the ship with the crew, much to Lanara’s consternation, and disembarked in the morning just before they cast off again.

“Thank Feesha,” Lanara said as soon as they reached the end of the dock and were touching dry land. “Please, no more boats for a while.”

“No, now it’s back to horses and tents,” Arrie said, leading Ghost by the reins off the dock. “Where are we headed, Maddie?”

“Stacks is north-northwest of here, two days’ ride, in the foothills of the mountains that mark the border between Medos and the Confederates,” she said. “It’s still the slow season, so we should be able to get right in.”

“I thought every day was the slow season for a library,” Osborn muttered to himself.

An uneventful two days later, they rode into Stacks. The city itself was a fairly typical walled fortress-town, with the library itself housed in the old castle in the center. Maddie told them that everything above the castle’s main floor was devoted to storing books and scrolls. Riding through town, the party saw that most of the businesses in town catered to the needs of a library; book-binders, scribes, paper-makers, calligraphers, cartographers.

“No exotic dancers here, I take it,” Arrie said. Maddie shook her head in reply.

They made arrangements to stay at a no-frills inn called the Dry Inkpot, and then Maddie led them to the library. As the favored soul had promised, they were able to access the books immediately. They paid a few extra coins to reserve a private chamber within the library.

“So, now what?” Arrie asked.

“Well, now we really need to make a copy of Maddie’s map,” Kyle said. “I’m afraid the original is a bit difficult to reference.”

“Well, why is that?” Razael asked. “I’ve heard you folks talk about this map that Maddie has, but I haven’t seen it. What’s the story there?”

In response, Maddie pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it aside, grabbing her long hair in one hand and pulling it forward. Razael stared in amazement.

“Um, Razael?” Arrie said, “The map is on this side.”

The tracker crossed the room and looked at Maddie’s back, studying the map etched there by Erito’s power. “That’s a pretty intricate map,” he said. “Where is it?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Maddie replied. “But if you don’t need the map any more, can I have my shirt back? This castle is a little cold.”

“Obviously,” Kyle said. When he got a sharp look from Autumn, he threw his hands in the air. “What? She has goosebumps!”

“Yeah, at least two,” Lanara quipped.

Once Maddie was dressed again, they continued their discussion. “Well, one of us is going to have to do the work,” Autumn said. “We can’t exactly take Maddie to any old cartographer and lay her across a table.”

“Too many questions,” Osborn agreed, “and even if that wasn’t a problem, we probably shouldn’t let this map get out in public.”

“So, who here has any cartography skills?” Arrie asked. When no one spoke, she tried again. “Okay, how about just drawing?”

“If I were working in metal, stone, or wood, I’d be fine,” Kyle said. “But drawing? That’s a pretty intricate map. I wouldn’t trust myself to get it right.”

“I have some practice at calligraphy,” Xu said, “but I am no artisan. Like Kyle, I would feel insufficient to the task.”

“Can’t we just cover my back with ink and I can roll on a piece of paper?” Maddie asked.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Razael commented. But Kyle shook his head. “No. Too much distortion, too much smudging.”

“Well, Kyle, why can’t you use wood?” Razael asked. “I mean, stone and metal would take too long, but I know there are paper mills outside the city, so we could get wood. A few thin boards, and you could carve it in sections, then just put them together like a puzzle.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “It’s been a while since I did any serious work with wood.”

Autumn put her arms around Kyle’s shoulders. “I know you can do it, Kyle.”

“All right, I’ll give it a shot. Let’s go pick out the wood. But I don’t want to start until tomorrow – I have a couple of spells I can prepare that’ll help.”

“Okay, so Autumn, Kyle, and Osborn can go take care of that,” Arrie said. “The rest of us can stay here and try to get a head-start on the research – get the right books out and such.”

They split up and went about their various tasks. Back at the inn that evening, Kyle prepared the boards they had selected, planing and sanding them smooth, and making sure they were uniform in size and thickness. Then he spent an hour having Maddie lie on her stomach on her cot, while he studied the lines of her map carefully. Autumn sat in the room with him, doing her embroidery and keeping them both company while they worked.

The next morning, Kyle and Maddie went into the room alone. “This shouldn’t take long,” he told the others. “I’m using magic to speed things up. So either I get it right the first time, and we’re set, or I don’t get it right, and we’re going out to buy more wood today.”

After a few minutes of silence, there was a flash from inside the room, and a moment later Kyle walked out, smiling. “Got it.”

They took their new map to the library immediately. They were able to spread it out on the table in the room they had reserved, and because the map wasn’t made of parchment, they could set books and maps directly on top of it without fear of tearing it. Kyle and Lanara immediately sat down and began looking through the books they had already gathered. The others took turns helping out as they could, looking for more books, having obscure passages translated, or even just offering comfort and support.

Though Kyle would have preferred a slow, methodical search, they were forced to be somewhat hasty. Xu pointed out that Hungai’s men had arrived in M’Dos the day they had left, and thus were not far from her trail. So they worked as fast as they could, from sunup to sundown. By the second day, Kyle had confirmed that what he referred to as ‘Erito’s secret spot’ was nowhere on or under the continent of Affon. The next two days were less productive, as they were unable to even eliminate any areas on other continents in order to narrow their search.

On the fifth day, they had a breakthrough. Kyle suddenly realized that the formations on Maddie’s map that they had assumed were stone were actually ice. They then discovered an old journal and exploratory maps from a century and a half ago, when some dwarven explorers from the Confederates sailed to the planet’s southern pole. The explorers had discovered a series of ice caves, and one of the maps of the caves appeared to connect to an area that looked very much like what was on their wooden map. Kyle and Lanara’s shouts of excitement brought several people running.

That afternoon, they presented their findings to the rest of the group. “We copied down everything we could,” Kyle said. “Maps, descriptions of creatures, you name it.”

“What kind of creatures?” Arrie asked.

“Polar worms, remorhaz and frost giants were the worst they reported,” Lanara said. “Other than that it was what you’d expect – polar bears and seals.”

“One of the dwarves reported seeing an ice dragon,” Kyle added, “but it was during a blizzard, in near whiteout conditions, so it was probably a polar worm.”

“Well, now we know where,” Arrie said.

“Yeah, but getting there will be the trick,” Kyle said. “Not like we can just hop the closest trading vessel.”

“We’ll have to commission our own ship,” Autumn said.

“Commission? We’ll probably have to have one built and hire our own crew!” Osborn said.

“And if we go, we should go in summer, when it’s warmest,” Maddie said. “Least chance of blizzards.”

“Well, we have the money, we’d just need the ship,” Kyle said.

“Then I say we head to Tlaxan,” Autumn said.

Everyone looked at her in surprise. “I didn’t think you were all that eager to go back so soon,” Kyle said.

“Not really. But there are ships there, and crew to hire, and we have connections with the Imperial family that will make it easy. Besides, I should really get this whole ‘Duchess’ thing settled.”

“Tlaxan’s on the other side of the Confederates,” Arrie said. “It’ll take a while to get there.”

“Perhaps we could send word ahead to Herion to help lay the groundwork,” Autumn suggested, looking at Arrie meaningfully.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she sighed.

“Well,” Kyle said, “maybe as long as we’re going there, it’ll give us time to work on Lanara’s problem.”

Razael turned to the cansin. “What problem? You look fine to me.”

“I’ll let someone else tell you,” Lanara said.

It was Autumn who answered. “Let’s just say that Lanara used to have a beautiful singing voice, and she wants it back.”

“I had a couple of ideas,” Kyle said. “The first would be to try another commune with Erito, but we’ve got a while to wait before that headband of Maddie’s charges up again. But since we’re here in a holy site for Erito, maybe we could convince one of the priests to do a divination in order to maybe give us a direction to turn. Or, if we could get a sending, maybe we could contact Aran.”

“An acquaintance of ours,” Autumn said to Razael. They definitely weren’t ready to explain the issue of psionics to the tracker yet.

“I doubt Aran would respond to a sending, Kyle,” Arrie said. “If he’s under as much scrutiny as he claims, then contacting us that directly would make us targets.”

“Then the divination?” Kyle asked.

“Erito does have a number of seers and loremasters,” Arrie said, “it’s worth a shot.”

They went back to the castle, and after a few inquiries and several donations, they found a loremaster that was available to perform divinatory spells. After Arrie explained their need and made another donation to cover the costs of the spell, the priest agreed to cast the divination.

Sitting down, the priest invited the others to sit around him in a circle. “What question shall I pose to receive Erito’s wisdom?” he asked.

“How may we restore the bardic abilities of Lanara Rahila?” Arrie stated.

After several minutes of chanting and burning incense, the answer came.

“The same way that you may restore clarity to the perfect diamond.”
“Wow, that was clear as mud that’s been walked through,” Lanara complained. “I’m glad it was your money, Arrie.”

“The answer is truth,” the loremaster said, “even if it’s meaning cannot yet be understood.”

“Thank you,” said Arrie. “We will contemplate the answer further.” But as soon as they left the room, Arrie shouted in frustration. “Gah!”

“On the surface, it would imply that there really isn’t anything wrong with Lanara at all,” Kyle said, “since a perfect diamond already has clarity.”

“Unless the diamond were covered, or dirty,” Arrie suggested.

“Ooh! I’ll give Lanara a bath!” Maddie offered.

“Thanks, but I think you’ll have to fight this guy for the privilege,” Lanara said, pointing to Razael.

“Okay, look, we’re not figuring this out today,” Kyle said. “Why don’t we sleep, and get on the road to Tlaxan tomorrow. We can mull the diamond thing over on the road. In a few days we can try another commune and see if this time we might get lucky and get answers we can use.”

“Anything beats staying in a library city,” Osborn said, as he walked off toward the Dry Inkpot.

When he was out of earshot, Arrie leaned over to Autumn. “So, when should we tell him that the road back to Tlaxan from here will take us through Laeshir again?”

Autumn shook her head. “Not for a while, Arrie. Not for quite a while.”


--------------------

So, here's the real reason that Tolly got offered the Inquisitor Primus job - it provided a good rationale for his leaving the party. His player had mentioned feeling that Tolly's mindset was becoming increasingly divorced from the rest of the party - he's definitely very much Lawful, while the rest of us lean strongly toward Chaotic. Our attitude toward him had, admittedly, become less respectful over time, so in balance it was a good decision on his part. His new character, Razael, definitely turns out to be less... restricted.

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

A double update for you today, just in time for Christmas!

First, we have "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime", a short bit of fiction I wrote on behalf of Razael to explain how he came to be a part of our merry band.

The next post will be the continuation of the regular campaign, with the adventure "Final Answer".

-------------------------

“Enter,” Herion said, at the knock on his door.

Razael Fletcher came in and stood before Herion’s desk, quiet and impassive. As usual, he was dressed in his forest garb, which was covered with a healthy layer of dirt. Bits of dry moss flaked off and fell onto the thick rugs on the floor.

“Huntsman Fletcher, do you know why I’ve called you in here?”

The old elf paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched with what was almost a smile. “I’m sure I don’t, Your Highness,” he replied.

He’s clever enough not to incriminate himself, at least. “I’ve just spoken with Marquis Arovnen of Malachor. Would you like to know what we discussed?”

Razael did not respond.

“We discussed his lovely young daughter, Lilliana. He states that someone sullied her honor two nights ago – someone from the Order of Huntsmen. Do you know who he might have mentioned, specifically?”

“I can’t say as I’m privilege to your conversations with the nobility of Tlaxan, Your Highness,” Razael said, “though from what I understand, Lilliana’s honor was sullied long before this Huntsman you mention came along, and is likely to be sullied again at some point in the future. Why, even her own cousins…”

Herion slammed his open hand down on the desk. “Dammit, Razael! Her one-hundredth birthday* was only a week away! And you are older than her father! How do justify that?”

This time, the twitch at Razael’s mouth inched upward into a half-grin. “Early birthday present, Your Highness?”

Herion just stared at Razael for a while. Then he leaned back and sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. “You place me in a difficult situation, Razael. Marquis Arovnen has threatened to bring this matter before the Emperor. Unless I’m able to come up with a solution first.”

Razael casually reached back and withdrew one of his arrows from his quiver. He fingered the razor-sharp head while spinning the shaft slowly. “Do you want the Marquis scared or silenced?” he asked.

“That is not the type of solution I’m talking about,” Herion said flatly. Razael shrugged and put his arrow away.

“This is not the first time you and I have had this conversation, Razael,” Herion said, standing up and slowly walking around the room. “Your… preferences in regard to the ages of the women you consort with have always been a problem. How many times have you been discharged from duty for that, Razael?”

“Thirty-seven,” he answered. “That the Court is aware of.”

“Thirty-seven,” repeated Herion, “and of course, one that we will not speak of here. I fail to see why you could not simply wait until these women have come of age. At least then these incidents would be merely scandalous instead of criminal.”

“I’ve never claimed patience was one of my virtues,” Razael said.

“Nor is discretion, apparently. Really, Razael, you’re an Imperial Huntsman. How is it that you are caught so frequently?”

“Believe me, Your Highness, I was not the one who gave away my position. Many of these young women are somewhat unrestrained.”

Herion held up a hand. “To borrow a phrase from my wife, there are details which I do not wish to know.” Herion sat back down at his desk. “But improper chaperonage is really the least of the problems, even if it is the most frequent one. There is also the matter of a few untimely deaths, isn’t there?”

Razael shrugged again. “I’m a Huntsman, Your Highness. Huntsmen kill.”

“Yes, unfortunately that has included some rather prominent people. Such as the Baron of Joxan.”

“He attacked me first, Your Highness.”

“The Countess of Nal Dashia?”

“Again, self-defense. She was casting a spell at me.”

“And Lord Yothran from Targeth?”

Razael remained silent.

“Yes, well,” Herion said, “of course, you were exiled for those incidents, as I recall, though later divinations proved you innocent… or at least, innocent enough that the exile could be revoked.”

“If my presence in the Empire has become too burdensome, Your Highness, then feel free to send me away again, or punish me as you see fit. You are the Master Huntsman.”

“That’s the problem. Whippings don’t seem to discourage you, nor does being removed from your post. As for exile, well, somehow the thought of you wandering Affon completely unsupervised is more worrisome to me than the thought of the remainder of our Empire’s young women falling under your ministrations.” Herion sighed again. “And, despite the problems you create, the truth is that your skills are too valuable to waste.”

“You’re too kind, Your Highness,” Razael said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Razael,” Herion said. “I have yet to decide what to do with you.” Herion grabbed a sheet of parchment off a stack on his desk and quickly signed it. “Tomorrow I must go and represent the Empire at the funeral of Archprelate Jerome of the Ardaran church. I’m ordering you suspended from duty and placed under house arrest here at the palace. I am hoping that the Marquis will be satisfied if I explain that I must attend to affairs of state before I can resolve the situation with you.”

“Buying yourself some time,” Razael said, “very clever, Your Highness.”

“The guards who brought you to me will escort you to your room, where you will remain until I return from Medos. Your meals and other needs will be brought to you – by male servants. If you are seen outside your chamber, you will be shot on sight. Is this understood?”

“Right. Couple of weeks being waited on hand and foot in a comfy room in the palace until you get back and give me my comeuppance.”

“Try not to take such glee in your punishment where others can hear you,” Herion warned. “You’ve made this situation difficult enough as is without spreading rumors that I’m going easy on you. This is merely the most expedient way I have of keeping you contained until I can deal with you.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” Razael bowed, and then turned and walked out of Herion’s office.

Once the door was closed, Herion closed his eyes and tried unsuccessfully to will away the headache that had been building all day, ever since his audience with the Marquis this morning. He was as aware of young Lady Lilliana’s reputation as Razael; she, like the other thirty-six young women, (that the Court is aware of, he reminded himself) were not exactly unwilling recipients of the old tracker’s attentions. But that was beside the point. His station as Crown Prince also made him Master of the Huntsmen, and thus he was responsible for their conduct.

Herion wasn’t sure what to do with Razael. The refugee from the Western Expanse was skilled, but his attitudes were most… un-elven. For a moment he wished that his wife Ariadne was here; her outlook on life was decidedly different from his, and she might be able to suggest something suitable as a punishment for Razael.

Opening his eyes, Herion looked at the stack of parchments on his desk; more work to attend to before he left in the morning. Grabbing the top sheet, he unfolded it and started to skim through its contents, hoping it was something routine and mundane he could just sign and be done with. But he stopped after only a few lines, and read more carefully.

Imperial Crown Prince Herion,

Greetings.

I am High Loremistress Galadrel of Erito’s temple in the city of Noxolt. Forgive the informality of this letter, but the matter I bring before you is not one I wish to present through official channels.

We have recently become aware of the emergence of a new Favored Soul of Erito upon the continent of Affon. As you may well imagine, the discovery of any of Erito’s Favored is a cause for great joy among those of our mutual faith, as the Favored are the closest mortal link to the Will of our Lady. However, in this particular case, we have been advised by communion with Erito Herself that this particular Favored, a young elf woman named Madrone, is of particular importance to Her designs. We have been charged with seeing to the welfare of Madrone.

The reason that I have brought this matter to your attention, Your Highness, is that you yourself are familiar with Madrone’s current traveling companions. They include your spouse, the Crown Princess Ariadne Verahannen, and her sister, the Duchess Autumn Verahannen. It is also my understanding that you will be making an official state visit to Medos to represent our nation at the funeral ceremonies for the Ardaran Archprelate, and thus might be in a position to rendezvous with them while in M’Dos, as our divinations indicate that this is where Madrone and her companions are located.

I would consider it a great favor if you could provide some manner of protection to Madrone. Though I do not doubt the skills of your wife or sister-in-law, or their companions, we feel that having someone with them who was more invested in Madrone’s personal well being would be advantageous. I would advise no more than one person be assigned this task; having Madrone followed everywhere by a squadron of Tlaxan infantry would draw too much attention, and Erito advises us that discretion is Madrone’s greatest defense. We have sent along with this letter a sealed scroll, which the person you choose for this assignment may present to Madrone to certify his or her legitimacy. Of course, whatever other authorities you wish to bestow upon this guardian, official or otherwise, are at your discretion.

May Her blessings be upon you.


For one of the few times in his long life, Herion laughed out loud to himself. Blessings, indeed!

For a moment, Herion considered if his idea was wise. Certainly, it would meet the church’s needs, and would neatly solve his other dilemma. But would he be creating a bigger problem? No, he decided. Had he not just been thinking that his wife would be the one most capable of dealing with this problem? While he watched this Madrone, they could watch him. And even if he did get out of line, whatever Razael did outside the borders of Tlaxan was not the concern of the Imperial Court.

Herion waved his hand over the small glass globe on his desk, which summoned his personal secretary to his office. The sharply dressed elf came through his door only a minute later.

“How may I serve you, Highness?” he said, bowing.

“Halifer, please send word to Huntsman Razael Fletcher. He is currently being detained in the south wing. Tell him that he is to be aboard my ship first thing in the morning before I depart for M’Dos.”

“And if he inquires about the reason, Highness?”

“Tell him…” this time it was the corners of Herion’s mouth that curled upward. “Tell him that he is to learn how to properly chaperone a young woman.”

------------------------

* Elves are considered adults at the age of one hundred.

Final Answer

Maddie’s eyes flickered open as she came out of trance. She glanced around the dark room, her eyes taking in the room despite the pre-dawn darkness. She saw Arrie, Lanara and Xu laying on their cots nearby, huddled under blankets to ward off the morning chill. Maddie laid still for a few minutes more, then quietly rose and got dressed.

She walked quietly down the hallway, carrying her boots in her hands so as not to make noise. The walls in the Dry Inkpot were fairly thin, and sound traveled. As she passed the door to Kyle and Autumn’s room, Maddie smiled and shook her head. Sometimes sound travels a bit more than some people realize, she thought. But perhaps it was her own keen elven hearing that was the problem in this case, rather than a lack of discretion on their part.

As her thoughts turned to ‘keen elven hearing’, Maddie slowed down even further as she passed the next door, tiptoeing past. She had no doubt that Razael, her new bodyguard, was also out of trance and awake in his room. She only hoped that Rupert’s snoring from the room next door was enough to mask the sound of her own footfalls. It wasn’t that she begrudged the tracker’s desire to do his duty; she only wanted a few minutes alone for a morning walk. Besides, then she wouldn’t have to worry about the way Razael looked at her. Maddie had noticed a distinct change in the way she was looked at by others after her transformation, a change she found both refreshing and unsettling. Razael’s gaze, in particular, was one of desire for a young, attractive elf maiden. Which was flattering, in some ways, even though Razael was centuries older than her. Maddie still had yet to decide how she wanted to respond to those looks. Of course, those looks could easily change if and when Razael found out about who she used to be. She smiled again; well, even if he did have a problem with that, he could always turn his attentions to Lanara, who seemed only too happy to return Razael’s looks of appraisal.

Once out of the hallway and out the front door of the inn, Maddie pulled on her boots and headed for the wall. She had already learned that the town’s militia would permit her to climb up and walk along the outer wall of Stacks; likely a combination of her status as one of Erito’s Favored and the desire of the young guards for an interesting change of scenery. Sure enough, she walked past the guard at the bottom of the stairs without challenge, and was soon strolling along the wall, nodding greetings to the occasional watchman on patrol.

She stopped near the center of the southern wall, just over the gate, leaning on her elbows and looking out at the hills surrounding them. Within a few hours they’d be leaving Stacks, on their way north to Tlaxan and Merlion, where among other things they intended to purchase a ship to take them to the planet’s southern pole. Maddie rolled her shoulders, feeling the skin on her back move and the lines and ridges of Erito’s map move with it. She would be glad when they finally reached this oasis that her goddess had pointed her to, and perhaps they would all understand more of their purpose.

Something odd caught her eye out in the darkness, just as one of the guards came walking by behind her. She stared out into the gloom, then waved the guard over.

“Do you see anything odd?” she asked the young man.

“Um, no ma’am, I don’t,” came the reply. “It’s still too dark to see anything.”

Maddie frowned. Why don’t they have any elves up on the walls at night? “Out there,” she said, pointing, “about fifty yards from the gate. It looks like…” she trailed off and stared hard, eyes darting about. The color slowly drained from her face. “Go get your captain,” she said to the guard. “Quickly. And quietly.”

“Why?”

“Just go!” she barked.

The young guard swallowed nervously, then saluted, nearly dropping his spear. He then ran off down the wall. Maddie staying in place, trying to make out any details she could. As the tiniest glimmer of the sunrise touched the sky to the east, Maddie’s eyes were able to make out a few more details. Straining to see, she caught the barest glimpse of something familiar.

“Oh, dear,” she said to herself.


Autumn rolled over and poked Kyle in the ribs as the knocking at the door continued, pulling the blanket over her head. Sighing, Kyle rolled out of bed and grabbed his robes, draped over a chair.

“One of these days I’m going to turn you into a morning person,” he said. Her only response was to wave her hand in the general direction of the door before disappearing under the blankets again.

Walking over and opening the door a crack, Kyle was somewhat surprised to see Maddie standing in the hallway. Taking a moment to make sure he was decent, Kyle then stuck his head out the door. “What is it, Maddie?”

“Kyle, how big would something have to be before you considered it an army?”

Kyle frowned. He didn’t like where that question was leading. “Well, it’s pretty relative, but I’d say at least a hundred soldiers.”

“Oh, good. Then there’s definitely not an army camped outside the city.”

“Oh, really.” Kyle rubbed sleep from his eyes. “And how close are we to having an army camped outside the city?”

“I’d say it’s more like half an army. I wouldn’t have mentioned it, except that it looks like they’re flying Lord Hungai’s flag. I think they found us.”

Kyle leaned heavily against the doorframe. “Looks like it,” he sighed. “Why don’t you go wake the others, I’ll get Autumn up. What time is it?”

“An hour before sunrise. I wanted to catch you before you started preparing your spells for the day.”

“I appreciate it. Now, please go get the others, Maddie.”

“I’ll wake Xu last,” she said, before heading down the hall to Osborn and Razael’s room.

Kyle turned and finished pulling his robes on before walking over to the bed. He sat down gently next to Autumn and began running his fingers through her golden hair.

“Autumn, sweetie?”

“Yes?” she moaned after a while.

“Time to wake up, dear. We have to go fight an army.”

A single blue eye poked out from under the covers. “What army?”

“The one that’s come for Xu, sugar dumpling,” he said. When he saw the eye widen in alarm, he amended, “not ‘you’ you, the monk Xu.”

The eye disappeared, and Kyle heard a sigh from under the blanket. “F*ck,” she said.

Kyle stood up. “Not now, dear, I have to prepare spells.” He walked over to retrieve his spellbooks, pretending he didn’t notice the pillow thrown at him.

The party was gathered in the common room a half-hour later. Xu was still upstairs, asleep; they’d decided to give her a few more minutes of peace before breaking the news.

“Okay, so, we haven’t got long before Xu wakes up on her own for her morning exercises,” Arrie said, “so what’s the plan?”

“The town militia has already been alerted,” said Maddie. “They’re already rousing their extra men and getting ready. Loremaster Fezhoth has also been alerted. They’re trying to prepare as quietly as possible to not raise a panic, and so that hopefully Hungai’s men don’t know we’re on to them yet.”

“It’s light enough now that even a human would be able to see the tents,” Autumn said, “so that ruse won’t hold long. Obviously, Hungai the Great isn’t worried about the people of Stacks knowing he’s here.”

“What do you think of the town’s defenses?” Maddie asked Arrie.

“Well, the wall’s in good shape, and the library should still serve as a fortress if needed. The water comes from a well to an underground river, so we could hold out a while. But their militia’s mostly volunteer and not experienced. And with all the paper and glue in here, this place will go up like kindling to the first volley of fire arrows.”

“I don’t understand how they found us,” Razael said. “Ever since you said that one of you was being followed our of M’Dos, I’ve been covering our trail.” The tracker scowled. “They must’ve cheated.”

“I saw about two dozen people at the south gate,” Maddie said, “and someone told me there were that many more at the north gate. There are also archers at the east and west walls.”

“Any sign of a command tent?” Razael asked.

“Not on the south side,” Maddie said.

“Well, I’m going to go check the north, see what I can see,” Razael stood and walked out the door, grabbing his bow. Osborn went with him. After crossing the town and climbing up the stone stairs to the top of the north wall, the two could see a small force gathering on the road leading to the north gate. The force was comprised half of pikemen, and half of men with maces and heavy shields. Further from the town, near the treeline, sat a large tent flying several colorful flags.

“There’s your command tent,” said Osborn.

“Bet I could set it on fire from here,” Razael commented.

Osborn turned to one of the local militia. “They made any demands yet?”

The soldier shook his head. “Maybe when the sun rises fully, sir,” he said. “So far, nothing.”

“Yeah, we think they may be after one of the people in our group,” Razael said casually, still eyeing the distance to the command tent.

“Um, Razael? Maybe we should check back in with the others before we go shooting the bad guys?”

“Well, sure.” Razael shouldered his bow and followed Osborn back to the inn, where they gave a full report of everything they’d seen.

“So, Kyle,” Autumn said, “you’re used to annihilating armies, right?”

“Oh, sure,” he said sarcastically. “Used to do it all the time back on the farm.”

By this time Xu had awoken, and come downstairs, somewhat surprised to see everyone else waiting for her, fully armed. When told what was happening outside the town walls, Xu only panicked for a few seconds before regaining her composure.

“So, what do we do?” Razael asked. “Drop a fire arrow on Hungai’s tent?”

“You know,” Kyle said, “I’m pretty sure I know what the response to this is going to be, but I’d like to point out that technically they haven’t done anything yet.”

“They’ve barricaded and laid siege to the city,” Autumn said.

“Have they? I didn’t hear anything about catapults being readied or battering rams being deployed. And no one’s tried to leave, how do we know that Hungai’s men will stop them?”

“I could sneak outside the city, past those archers,” Razael mused. “So could the hin, I suppose. But that wouldn’t do Madrone a lot of good. I assume you’re not so good at sneaking out of the city?”

Maddie shook her head to confirm Razael’s suspicion.

Autumn turned to Arrie. “This will be the first time we’ve taken on an army,” she said with a gleam in her eye. Arrie nodded in agreement.

“How many you think you can account for?” Razael asked Arrie.

“Well, I have to get up to them first,” she said.

“Maybe,” Kyle said loudly, “there’s a way to do this without killing everything we see?”
“Why else would they be here,” Maddie asked, “if not for us to kill?”

“Look, I’m just trying desperately to cling to the shred of morals I have left,” Kyle complained.

“Kyle, I’m not making it the point of my day to go out and kill people,” Arrie said, “but they are an army, and odds are that they’re here to fight. It would be very rude of me not to oblige them. If they’ll parley, that’s great, but I doubt they will.”

Kyle sighed and shook his head, but didn’t say anything.

“Well, parleying might be difficult anyway,” Osborn said. “Xu’s the only one who speaks their language, and I doubt we’re sending her out to talk.”

“Can’t you cast translation spells?” Autumn asked Kyle.

“Yes, but I didn’t prepare those spells,” he replied. “What about you, Lanara?”

“Not anymore, I can’t,” the cansin snapped.

“I think the first thing we should do is talk to the town leaders and see what they want to do,” Arrie said. “It is their town, and we should get their input before we have our fun.”

The party went and requested to meet with Loremaster Fezhoth, the same man they had seen just the day before to request a divination regarding Lanara’s unusual condition. Once inside the loremaster’s chambers, Kyle laid everything out bluntly.

“Loremaster, we’d like to help with the current situation, as it’s likely that we’re the reason there is a situation.”

The old elf arched a brow. “Please, do explain.”

“We have reason to believe that the men camped outside may be looking for one of us,” Kyle continued. “Honestly, we didn’t expect this many people coming for her, but the banners they’re flying are familiar.”

“I see.”

“Obviously, since this is our mess, we’d like to help clean it up,” Kyle finished.

Loremaster Fezhoth stroked his chin. “Well, first, they haven’t done anything… yet. So I would like to see what they do first, especially as we are in a position of defense. If they attack, we will retaliate in kind. But if they wish to talk, we can negotiate. I have already sent word to M’Dos of our situation and am awaiting a response. So, what can you offer our defenses?”

“Well, he certainly didn’t put his tent far enough away,” Razael commented.

“We have a degree of combat experience,” Kyle said.

“We put sharp things into soft things that scream and bleed,” Arrie clarified.

“Frequently,” Autumn added.

Kyle shook his head. “I’m a wizard, and can lend my arcane skills. I’ve prepared spells in anticipation of a large-scale battle. We also have people skilled in stealth and reconnaissance. Probably the best thing to do is once Hungai makes his demands is to let the eight of us work together and do our thing.”

Fezthoth nodded. “We will notify you when you are needed.”

Just then, they heard a commotion outside. Stepping out, they saw people running about; when asked, one of the townsfolk said that the enemy army was sending someone to present demands. As he spoke, they heard a horn sound from the north.

The party walked quickly to the north gate and ascended the stairs. Outside, a single figure was walking down the road, a horn in one hand and a spear with a white cloth tied to the end in another. Stopping about a hundred feet from the gate, the man began to speak.

“I could shoot him from here,” Razael said.

“Don’t shoot the messenger,” Arrie said. “Just listen.”

The messenger began to speak in a loud, clear voice. “Citizens of the town of Stacks, the Great Lord Hungai demands that you send out the monk known as Xu Dhii Ngao. If you do not do this, we will enter your town and burn it to the ground. There will be nothing but ashes and corpses remaining. You have until high sun to meet his demands.” The messenger turned and walked away. As the guards began to mutter to themselves, the party quietly returned to the Dry Inkpot to talk.

“High sun is in five hours,” Xu said calmly. “That is not much time to prepare.”

“It’s enough,” Razael said. “Osborn, how about you and me go see what we can see in a bit?”

“Sounds good to me,” Osborn said.

“Well, this is a pretty pickle,” Kyle said. “How do we get rid of Hungai without endangering Stacks?”

“Assuming that Loremaster Fezthoth doesn’t just kick us out of the city,” Maddie said.

“It would be the smart thing for him to do,” Kyle said.

“Why don’t I go talk to the loremaster and see what they want to do,” Arrie offered. “Osborn and Razael can do their thing while I’m gone.”

“Maybe we can talk to this Hungai,” Osborn said. “Tell him that Xu doesn’t want to marry him, and tell him to piss off. In a nice way, of course.”

“Lord Hungai already knows my feelings,” Xu said. “He does not care.”

“Well, then, maybe a single combat? Our best against their best. If we win, he leaves her alone, if he wins, she goes with him.”

“No,” Autumn said flatly.

“I am not willing to gamble on such a proposition,” Xu said.

“Because they’ll cheat,” Autumn said.

“Whether they cheat or not, if for some reason fortune favored Hungai, then I would be honor-bound to accept the terms and return to Xhintai with him. I cannot accept that fate.”

Osborn shrugged. “Well, then, let’s kill him.”

“My thoughts exactly,” Razael said.

“Any way to lure the army away from the city?” Kyle asked.

“Not without punching through them,” Razael said.

“Do you have any illusions you could use?” Lanara asked Kyle.

“Not really. Most of the spells I know come out of necromancer’s grimoires, and most necromancers don’t get too heavy into the illusion spells.”

“I could disguise myself as Xu,” Lanara offered.

“For what purpose?” Maddie said. “It doesn’t get the army away, and simply puts you in their hands, which gives them another bargaining chip.”

“I could get close enough to do something to Hungai,” Lanara protested.

“But we don’t even know for sure that Hungai himself is out there,” Kyle pointed out. “For all we know he’s sitting back in Xhintai, and this is just one of his men leading this force.”

“And even if you could,” Arrie added, “then what?”

“You guys come to save me?” Lanara said, knowing that her plan wasn’t panning out.

“Yeah, that puts us in a worse place than now.” Kyle said.

“I suppose just giving her up is out of the question,” Razael said.

“No,” said Autumn and Arrie at the same time.

“You saying the same thing?” Razael asked Maddie.

She nodded her head in agreement. “I will not allow Xu to be violated.”

“We could see if we could push our way through the southern force,” Xu offered. “They do not appear to have horses.”

“Neither do I,” said Razael. “But don’t worry about that. I can catch up to you folks later.”

“But that might not prevent Hungai from taking his anger out on the town if we run,” Maddie said. “And if we are separated, Razael, then you’re not performing your duty to protect me very well.”

“You’ve got a point there,” the tracker said.

“Let me go talk to Fezhoth,” Arrie said. “We can at least eliminate some guesses about what they’re going to do.” Arrie stood and walked out of the inn, returning to the library-church. This time she was let right in to see the loremaster.

“Loremaster,” Arrie said, bowing her head.

“Princess,” Fezhoth replied, bowing in turn. “You are no doubt here to see if I’m about to order you and your companions out of the city.”

“Something like that. I understand you have priorities in this situation that we don’t necessarily share.”

“Admittedly, it would seem to be the solution most in our favor,” the loremaster said, “but things are rarely as they seem on the surface. After all, there is no guarantee that these men will hold to their word. What are your intentions?”

“Well, basically these people want to take our friend back to a person who wants to make her his wife against her wishes. If it comes to it, we will make a stand on her behalf.” Arrie paused. “I’m wondering if you will be entering into a negotiation with them.”

“I was about to perform an augury to determine if surrendering you and your monk friend would be the wise course. If you would like to wait…” he gestured to a small sofa on one wall of his office.

Arrie went and sat down while Fezhoth pulled a small bronze brazier out of his desk drawer and filled it with incense. After several minutes of staring into the whorls of smoke coming from the brazier, he leaned back. “The augury indicates that giving up your friend will bring great misfortune,” the loremaster said. “Therefore, we will not do that.”

Arrie smiled. “I’m not unhappy to hear that.”

Arrie went back and filled the rest of the group in. For their part, the group had been discussing tactics. Lanara was still offering to disguise herself as Xu to sow confusion if they decided to meet the enemy head-on.

“It’ll decrease the chance that they get their hands on the real Xu,” the bard protested.

“I appreciate what you are trying to do for me,” Xu said. “But in order for the ruse to work, I would either be forced to remain out of the battle and do nothing, or you would be forced to fight as I do. Neither are options I believe we are willing to take.”

“Ironically, the more we look at it, it seems the safest option we have is to rush out and attack,” Maddie commented.

“Well, maybe we don’t have to,” Osborn said. “I mean, Hungai’s basically declaring war on Medos. Maybe we could threaten these guys with that, see if they’re prepared for the consequences.”

“We could,” Arrie said, “but it might be better if that came from Loremaster Fezhoth rather than us.”

“You know,” Autumn said sadly, “Tolly would have loved this.”

“Yeah, smiting people disrupting order,” Osborn agreed.

“Okay, so, do you want me on the north wall or the south wall?” Kyle asked.

“Let’s wait and see what the town wants us to do,” Arrie said. “They haven’t even had a chance to say ‘no’ yet.”

“The question is, how emphatic of a ‘no’ do they want?” Kyle said.

Just then, a messenger came to the inn. “Fezhoth would like to speak with all of you, if you please,” the young page said.

The group assembled a few minutes later in the loremaster’s office. “I don’t know who this Hungai is, or what business he has here other than your monk friend,” Fezhoth said, “but he has made a grave mistake in attacking a sovereign nation.”

“That’s what I thought,” Osborn said.

“I have received a message back from M’Dos,” Fezhoth said. “They are sending the army to deal with this incursion into Medos’ territory. They will arrive in two days.” The loremaster thought for a moment. “Can you and your people help us fend off these attackers for that long until they can be properly chastized?”

“Absolutely,” said Arrie.

“A thought occurs to me,” the loremaster said. “We don’t know if they have reinforcements in the woods.”

“I can find out,” Razael said.

“Me too,” Osborn chimed in.

“Very good,” Fezhoth said. “I believe I will station your group at the southern gate, and move most of the militia to the north gate. We still have preparations to make, and so we will wait until just before the deadline at high sun to make our answer known to them. Until then, do as you will.”

The group made their way to the south wall, while Osborn and Razael went to the east to get over the wall and scout out the enemy. Osborn donned his ring of invisibility, while Razael lowered a magical rope. Both made it over without being spotted by Hungai’s archers. They circled around and made their way into the trees, heading north toward where the command tent lay. As they drew close, they heard a strange noise coming from the woods a short distance from the clearing. Heading that direction, both Osborn and Razael were surprised to see a large creature tethered to a thick pine tree. The gray-skinned quadruped was twice as tall as Razael, and had two large, floppy ears, a pair of white tusks, and a long, prehensile appendage where its nose should have been.

“It’s an elephant,” whispered the invisible Osborn.

“A what now?”

“An elephant. They’re not native to Affon. One of the hin circuses in the Steppes had one, years ago when I was a boy. Our boss, Billyup, tried to buy it from them, but they wouldn’t sell.”

Osborn and Razael noted that the elephant wore a rather large saddle on its back. “It’s not an ogre-sized saddle,” whispered Razael, “although this critter could carry one. Looks human size, but for an awful big human.” Razael glanced around. “Osborn, why don’t you go take a look at the tent? I’ll stay here and see what I can find.”

“You’re going to steal the elephant, aren’t you?”

Razael made a show of looking around, as if unsure who was talking to him. “Who asked that? Was that my conscience? Haven’t heard from you in a long time.”

Shaking his head in amusement, Osborn slipped off to investigate the command tent. He was able to slip under the tent wall with little difficulty, and looked around. Inside he could make out a pair of figures in another chamber talking; one of the voices was very deep and sounded like it was coming from much higher up. Osborn poked an eye through the wall of silk separating the two parts of the tent, but could only make out two pairs of feet. Lying falt on his back and wriggling under the bottom of the wall, the hin was able to see more.

Two figures stood talking in a strange tongue, which Osborn assumed was Zhintai. Both men were tall, but one in particular was massive; his head almost touched the top of the tent. Osborn estimated that the man was almost eight feet tall. The massively-muscled behemoth wore plate armor that seemed to not quite fit; it was patched in places with sections of chain mail. Osborn saw a third figure nearby, lying on a cot, but he was unable to make out details other than the person’s presence. Unable to understand what was being said, and unable to move further into the room without risking being spotted, Osborn slid out of the room and retreated out the back of the tent.

Just as Osborn retreated into the trees and his invisibility wore off, he heard a loud trumpeting sound, one he hadn’t heard since he was a boy. A moment later, he felt the ground shake as the elephant jogged by, with Razael on his back. The elf was trying to spur the elephant to run, but the massive creature was cheerfully ignoring him, snatching leaves off of nearby trees with its nose as it sauntered by. Behind them, Osborn saw the smaller of the two men who had been talking in the tent emerge, shouting something at Razael. The tracker fired an arrow in response; the shot was wide, but was enough to send the man diving for cover. Osborn quickly slipped away, reactivating his ring, and returned to Stacks, scaling quietly up the wall. Several minutes later, Razael appeared at the top of the wall, covered in dust and dry leaves.

“Ran it off into the woods a ways,” Razael said. “That ought to delay them a bit.” The tracker pointed, and sure enough a pair of archers from both the east and west flanks suddenly broke off of their unit and went running toward the command tent and the woods where the elephant had been. He didn’t share the fact that the elephant had stopped walking after only a few minutes, and in order to get it moving again he’d had to shoot it in the rear end with an arrow.

Osborn had, by this time, informed the rest of the group of what he’d seen in the tent. Xu confirmed that the very large man was probably Lord Hungai the Great himself. She had no idea who the other soldier and the person on the cot could be.

“You’re filthy,” Kyle said, noting the layer of dust on Razael.

“Yeah, the elephant decided it wanted to take a dust bath with me still on its back.”

“You… want me to take care of that?” Kyle pulled out his wand of prestidigitation.

“Nah, I’m fine, thanks.” Razael walked away, trailing dirt, and missed Lanara and Kyle looking at each other and wrinkling their noses.

The situation became a waiting game. Despite their convictions that the elephant-knapping would trigger an immediate attack, Hungai’s forces seemed content to wait. When the high sun deadline passed, the archers began shooting sporadically at the town, but the volleys were neither well coordinated nor particularly accurate. Razael, Arrie, and Osborn took to the east wall to return fire. Razael strung a pair of arrows to his bow, while Arrie loaded arrows on both strings of her double bow. The tracker’s shots hit their mark, severely wounding one of the archers, while Arrie’s shots were short. The warrior shrugged and stepped back. Then Osborn stepped up, swinging a sling over his head. Razael’s brow arched questioningly at the hin, but he said nothing as Osborn wound up and fired. The bullet sailed out across the battlefield, and struck the already wounded archer in the head, dropping him.

Osborn grinned at Razael’s appreciative nod. “I’m pretty good with these,” he said, holding out a dagger,” “but I grew up with this before I was ever allowed to touch a blade.” He twirled the sling in his other hand with pride.

The archers moved back father after Osborn’s shot, trying to get out of range. They retreated behind a low ridge and fell flat, keeping the party from shooting at them. In response, Lanara used a wand to summon a fiendish viper behind the enemy lines. As archers jumped up out of their defensive positions to avoid the serpent, Arrie and Razael wounded a few more.

As the commotion settled down, the party regrouped at the south wall. Kyle and Autumn sat in the shelter of the crenellations, looking bored.

“Did you want to help out?” Arrie asked.

Kyle looked up at her. “Am I allowed to help?”

“Well, of course you are,” Arrie said, looking confused.

“I just wanted to make sure. Seems like every time I’ve wanted to look for a peaceful solution, everyone's ready to kill, but when I suggest getting aggressive, someone has a problem with it.”

“Well, they are shooting at us now, you know.”

“So, the gloves are off?”

“Absolutely!”

Kyle stood up and brushed dirt off his robes, then helped Autumn to her feet. He walked up to the edge of the wall, and glanced down at the massed ranks of pikemen and shield-bearers below at the gate. Upon seeing someone, they immediately began shouting and beating their maces against their shields.

Kyle threw up his hands and chanted a spell. Instantly, a cloud of sickly yellowish vapors rose up around the enemy soldiers. There were shouts of panic inside that were quickly cut off. The cloud slowly drifted south, down the road. As it moved away from where it was summoned, everyone saw the dead, twisted bodies of Hungai’s troops laying scattered on the road, their eyes bulging and their necks bloody from where they had tried to claw their own throats out.

Dropping his hands, Kyle started to walk away. “The southern front is safe,” he said.

“That… was impressive,” Razael said.

“I… guess that they know we’re serious now,” Osborn said.

The party crossed the city and went to the northern wall to survey the scene, reporting to the militia commander about the decimation of the enemy on the other side of the town. Razael finally got what he wanted, and was allowed to launch a flaming arrow at Hungai’s command tent. The arrow pierced the tent, and the party waited to see what would happen. But after a few minutes had passed, they saw no flames or smoke rising from the tent. Several minutes after that, they saw a single figure emerge from the tent. Judging from his size, it could only be Lord Hungai.

“I have taken your measure now!” he shouted at the town, though it was clear he was speaking to the party. “I will be back for you later, Xu Dhii Ngao!”

“That’s what you think!” Lanara shouted back at him.

Hungai ignored the bard. “And I will also see then about restoring the pink-haired one to you!”

The last comment caused the party to exchange looks of concern. “But… I’m right here!” said Lanara.

There were three short blasts on a horn, and the remains of Hungai’s forces began to withdraw. The command tent was quickly taken down and packed away as the troops marched away, to the cheers and shouts of Stacks’ defenders. The party was less cheerful.

“Do you think that Hungai could have stolen Lanara’s abilities?” Autumn asked.

“Could be,” Maddie replied.

“Can I kill him now?” the sentinel asked.

“I think we have to catch him first,” Lanara pointed out.

“No problem, he’s big.”

“I think that Razael will be able to easily follow a man leading half an army and an elephant,” Xu observed.

“You want to follow him?” the elf asked.

Everyone turned and looked at Arrie. “Why is it that whenever people want an impetuous answer, they look at me?” She grinned. “Of course we’re going to follow him!”

The party wasn’t able to leave the town right away, as Loremaster Fezhoth had ordered the gates barred until Hungai’s forces were well out of sight.

“You know,” Arrie said as she saddled up Ghost, “Herion’s not going to be happy that I’m chasing after this guy.”

“You can tell him it was my idea,” Autumn said.

“And what makes you think he’ll believe you?” commented Maddie. “Your reputation precedes you, Arrie.”

“Herion,” Razael said, shaking his head. “He’s going to have my hide again.”

Arrie, Maddie, and Autumn looked at each other as the tracker walked off. “Again?” Arrie whispered.

The party gathered at the north gate waiting for them to open. Kyle moved his horse back and forth, eager to get moving.

“You all right, Kyle?” Autumn asked.

“I just want to get the bastard,” the wizard replied.

“You’re getting into this, aren’t you Kyle?” Arrie said.

“I just want it over with,” he growled. “We have better things to do than deal with Hungai. But now it sounds like he might know something about what happened to Lanara. Between that, and giving Xu some peace of mind, I’m ready to dish out what this guy has coming.”

The gates of Stacks finally swung open, and the party spurred their horses to a gallop, raising a cloud of dust as they went off in pursuit of Hungai.

The trail was remarkably easy to follow; the path of an elephant through a dense forest wasn’t easy to hide. After studying the trail for a minute, Razael declared that they were no more than half an hour behind Hungai’s forces.

“They seem to be sticking together,” he said, “making their way almost due north toward the mountains.” He scratched at his head, sending bits of dirt tumbling out of his hair. “I would’ve split off a few folks in this situation, circled them around behind us to pin us down.”

“They may not have enough people left to do that,” Autumn said.

“And let’s consider that they’re not well-rested, and we are,” Arrie added.

“And the factor of having watched half their army get decimated,” Razael observed. “Good point.” He stood up. “I suggest we put on some speed. I’m not going to lose the trail, and right now we’re moving at the same speed. Unless we hustle, we’ll never catch them.”

The party remounted and rode off following Hungai’s forces. Slowly, they gained ground on the mercenary army. After about thirty minutes, they noticed that the trees were thinning out. From some distance away, they heard the sound of running water. They brought their mounts to a stop and secured them to trees, then proceeded on foot, spreading out slightly as they moved.

The trees gave way to a field of long grasses, gently sloping downward away from them. About fifty yards away, a large river flowed east, separating the forest from the more distant mountains marking the boundary between Medos and the Dwarven Confederates. A pair of shallow-bottomed ships were anchored at the closest shore, with ramps extending off their decks onto the riverbank. Hungai’s elephant was being carefully maneuvered onto one of the ships, while the remains of the soldiers that had laid siege to Stacks were boarding the other ship. Hungai himself could be seen on the ship where his elephant was being loaded, standing a full head over everyone else, shouting orders. On the shore, guarding their retreat, two units of five mounted samurai stood vigilantly, scanning the open field for any disturbance.

Arrie looked intently at the samurai. “These do not appear to be hin outriders,” she said mockingly.

A voice suddenly rang out behind and above the party. “Xu Dhii Ngao.”

Everyone turned to see a man perched in a pine tree behind them. He wore the garb of a Xhintai monk, though the colors and patterns of the fabric were different from those worn by Xu. The man had short, white hair, despite looking not much older than Xu herself. The man said a few words to Xu in Xhintai; she responded in kind.

“I hate it when they don’t speak Common,” Autumn complained.

“Well, technically, for them it is Common,” Kyle pointed out.

“Hey, when in Affon…” Lanara interjected.

Xu turned to her companions. “This man belongs to an order in opposition to my own. He has challenged me to a duel. I must accept.”

“What, now?” Autumn said.

“Yes. I will return.” With that, Xu and the other monk suddenly sprang off into the forest, leaping between trees and exchanging blows. They quickly moved out of sight.

The rest of the party looked at each other, perplexed. “Well,” said Kyle, “I guess we take care of Xu’s problem without her.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Lanara snapped, “leave us to deal with the problem.”

“Well, Hungai did say something about ‘the pink-haired one’,” Kyle observed.

“And again, I’m right here,” Lanara responded.

“But he said something about ‘restoring the pink-haired one’.”

“Well, that would be nice,” Lanara admitted.

“So lets go find out about that,” Osborn said.

“Well then, let’s go sink those ships,” Autumn said.

“Well, I don’t have any ‘boat-sinking’ spells,” Kyle said. “Other than fireball, and I don’t think incinerating them is a good idea, especially before we find out what he knows about Lanara.”

“So, we have the obstacle of ships that we want to keep from moving,” Arrie said pensively. “How do we do that?”

“I say we just take out whatever pathetic defenses they have, and storm the ships,” Autumn said.

“What about throwing something big into the river to block them?” Arrie said.

Razael peered across the field. “Nothing we’ve got is big enough, and by the time we cut down a tree to do it, they’ll be long gone.”

“So, it’s a frontal assault, then?” Arrie sighed.

“Fine with me,” Razael said.

“Perhaps we should just let the rest of them go, and make sure Hungai stays,” Arrie said. “After all, we only have a quarrel with him.”

“Well, he’s already on the ship,” Autumn said, “and the only thing that’s going to get him off is Xu.”

“Unfortunately, she went off that way,” Maddie said, pointing back into the forest.

“But, Hungai doesn’t know that,” Arrie said. “All we need is someone who looks like her.” Arrie looked meaningfully at Lanara.

“I can do that,” she said. A moment of concentration later, Lanara looked remarkably like Xu. “Fortunately I can still use my Talent*.”

The disguised Lanara walked out into the field, well in sight of Hungai and his men. Osborn used his ring to turn invisible and stand next to Lanara for protection. Razael crawled out through the long grass, taking up a position flanking them.

“Hungai!” Lanara shouted at the ships, “You dishonorable dog! Will you not at give me the opportunity to free my spirit from the burden of your taint through open combat?”

Hungai looked out across the field. Then, with a loud belly laugh, he waved his samurai forward. They spurred their horses and began to gallop across the field toward Xu.

“Coward!” the fake Xu shouted at Hungai. “You fear to face a woman yourself?”

The party quickly prepared for battle. Kyle cast a few spells on himself, then, smiling, he slapped Autumn on the rear end. She turned to protest, but then the reflex-boosting spell he’d cast on her took hold, and she found herself too eager to leap into battle to properly chastise him.

“Ladies,” Kyle said, addressing Autumn and Arrie with mock formality, “would you be so kind as to deal with the left flank?”

“But of course,” Autumn said. “Arrie, care to join me?”

Arrie hefted one of her orcish shotputs. “Absolutely.”

As she waited for the samurai to draw closer, Autumn looked at her sister. She crouched in the bushes, eyes closed, slowly rotating her shotput in her hands. She seemed unusually calm and reserved, quietly waiting when one would have expected her to be chomping at the bit to get to the approaching horsemen. As Autumn wondered how Arrie could be so serene with the enemy approaching, when she herself was so edgy (it must be Kyle’s spell, she thought), Autumn realized that she had preparations of her own to make. She concentrated for a moment, and moments later a silver-furred wolverine appeared by her side, teeth bared in anticipation. Meanwhile, Kyle pointed a wand at the samurai on the right flank, and sent a bead of fire shooting across the field. It exploded in their midst, and sent men flying off horses that were suddenly flash-fried. They quickly regained their feet, and continued to march across the field, their armor still smoking.

“Persistent little buggers,” Razael said, as he drew back his bow and began shooting arrows into the lead samurai.

Autumn and her celestial companion charged out into the open, ready to meet their charge. She swung her greataxe as they rode by, converging in to strike at the sentinel and then spreading out again as they galloped by. When they passed, Autumn and the wolverine were covered with several large cuts, though one of the horses was also bleeding from a large wound. Arrie, surprisingly, did not charge out with her sister, but held fast, slowly rotating her shotput in her hands, waiting for the samurai to get closer.

Kyle launched another fireball at the samurai on the left flank, then turned his attention to the other side, sighing as he saw Autumn rush after the samurai who were wheeling around. Arrie was also emerging from her hiding place in the forest, aiming at one of the samurai on the end. As he considered what he could do to keep his love from being skewered, he heard Maddie chanting behind him, and a sudden blast of sound erupted amidst the enemy unit, sending several of them crashing to the ground and breaking their momentum. Autumn took advantage of the opening and charged one of the fallen samurai, while the wounded wolverine leapt upon one of the horses that was still standing, snarling and frothing as it attacked.

Across the field, Hungai shouted more orders, and suddenly a hound-like creature leapt over the railing of the ship and began running at high speed through the air toward the combat. The thin, black-furred canine had an almost human-like visage, though the mouth was filled with many sharp teeth. As the flying beast approached, both Kyle and Maddie recognized it as an extraplanetary creature known as a yeth hound. But why is it here now? Maddie wondered. Yeth hounds only come out at night! What kind of trick is this?**

But Maddie had little time to ponder this unusual event, as suddenly a creature appeared out of thin air and slashed at her with a wicked-looking glaive. The weapon bit deep into her shoulder, hitting a major artery and sending blood spraying into the nearby branches. The horned, winged, bearded creature wielding the glaive shrieked in triumph. Maddie staggered back, then gritted her teeth and summoned up divine power, ruching forward and striking the devil in the chest. The triumphant scream turned to one of pain, as most of its life-force was torn away by Erito’s power. The devil hissed, then noticed that Razael was also closing in fast, and a few of his arrows embedded themselves in its scaled skin; though its infernal metabolism allowed it to ignore the magical cold, it still felt the bite of the arrow. The yeth hound tried to leap at the tracker and bring him down, but the elf slipped out of its grasp. With a leer at Maddie, the devil growled something in Infernal and then vanished, deciding its bargain of service was not worth its life.

The invisible Osborn had been slowly moving around behind the samurai, and signaled to Kyle, whose enhanced vision allowed the wizard to see the hin. Osborn and Kyle peppered the samurai on the right flank; Kyle with magic missiles and Osborn with daggers. Osborn’s blades proved far more effective, and the five warriors were moving noticeably slower now. On the other side of the field, Arrie and Autumn were locked in desperate melee with the other unit of samurai. Glancing around to appraise the situation, Lanara vanished from where she was standing, reappearing near the samurai that Arrie and Autumn were fighting. Dropping the illusion that made her look like Xu, Lanara began singing, the notes of her bardic music drifting over the field.

Osborn waved and signaled at Kyle, telling him to launch another fireball at the group of samurai, which were now starting to converge on him. Kyle shook his head and signaled back; you’re too close. Scowling, Osborn repeated the ‘fireball’ signal more emphatically, as if to say I don’t care! Do it anyway! Fortunately, the dilemma was resolved, as the samurai paused in their advance, giving Osborn the chance to dive out of the way and giving Kyle the opening he needed to launch a third fireball from his wand, which caught the yeth hound in its radius as well. As the flames vanished, Osborn sent another flurry of daggers into the samurai, and three of them fell.

Maddie, still bleeding from the devil’s wounds, ran toward the left flank and cast a mass lesser vigor on herself, the Verahannen sisters, and the celestial wolverine. Meanwhile, Lanara casually wandered around the periphery of the battle between Arrie, Autumn, and the samurai, coming around to where a severely injured wolverine was still tearing at horseflesh and samurai flesh, and with a swift movement plunged her rapier into the creature’s side.

“What are you doing?” shrieked Autumn. The shout was enough to draw everyone’s attention, and they saw as Lanara flashed a wicked smile at Autumn as she continued to stab her celestial companion. Suddenly, everything clicked into place – Lanara had used a dimension door, when she claimed she had no magic. She was singing a bardic song, when she had claimed she could not use her music. And they noticed that the music had done nothing to inspire them; in fact, it was the enemy that seemed to fight harder and better now.

Lanara was now the enemy.

The wolverine, blind with rage, lashed out at Lanara, scoring her armor with its claws. The wolverine’s lunges at the bard gave her an opening, and her rapier slid between the animal’s shoulder blades. The wolverine vanished in a flash of white light. Autumn also attempted to get at Lanara, but her way was blocked. Lanara’s smile only broadened, and her song grew louder.

Suddenly, another song filled the air. The sound seemed to weave through Lanara’s song, flattening the notes and obscuring the words. Scowling, Lanara cut her now-useless song off mid-stanza, looking around for the source of the interference. Across the field, a figure in a heavy cloak stood watching the battle, its own song fading as Lanara ended hers.

“You stupid bitch,” Lanara muttered at the cloaked form.

At the same time, on the other side of the clearing, Xu and the other monk burst out of the forest. Their duel had been evenly matched to that point; while Xu was more maneuverable on the ground, the monks of the Verdant Path were at home in dense forests, and her opponent, who had introduced himself as Zhen Thao, was able to leap agilely from tree to tree to avoid her. The answer, of course, was to leave the forest. The two monks exchanged another series of blows, their ki flowing back and forth and nullifying each other’s special maneuvers. Suddenly, Zhen Thao stepped back, and bowed.

“We are of equal measure, and further conflict is pointless. We shall meet again, Xu Dhii Ngao.”

Xu returned the bow, and Zhen Thao ran quickly toward the ships, which had finished loading and was starting to cast off. Xu took a moment to study the scene, unsure of what had transpired since her duel had begun.

Autumn screamed and slammed her greataxe into a samurai, taking his head off. Arrie whipped her chain around and wounded another one. The lone mounted samurai wheeled around and began charging toward the cloaked figure. Autumn, desperate to get at Lanara, grudgingly broke off to give chase to the mounted warrior, not wanting to risk their mysterious benefactor.

Razael loaded a pair of arrows and shot the yeth hound, piercing its throat and causing it to vanish in a cloud of sulfurous smoke. He then turned and ran to catch up to the woman he was supposed to be protecting, who had moved to help Arrie and Autumn. Maddie did take the time to heal her wounds, which gave Razael some comfort. Osborn closed with the last two samurai on the right flank and attacked, getting past their flashing swords and burying daggers in their chests. With no enemies left on the right flank, Kyle turned and cast a spell toward the other side. Rubbery black tentacles erupted from the ground, enveloping the last two samurai and Lanara in a vice-like grip.

The cloaked figure yelped as the samurai charged her, slashing with his katana and drawing blood. In response, the mysterious figure vanished. Autumn, who was closing in on the samurai, saw the tall grass parting by itself in a trail away from the warrior, and surmised that their ally was now invisible. She returned her attention to the samurai, and with a swipe of her axe took out the horse’s legs. Osborn ran up to help, and within a few moments the two of them had hacked the lone samurai into tiny pieces.

Razael and Kyle looked around, and saw that all of their enemies were dead or incapacitated. Then they saw the ships had pulled away from the riverbank and were beginning to unfurl their sails. Razael fired a single arrow at Hungai, who was still on the deck; the arrow stuck in the mast a few inches from the warlord’s head. For his part, Kyle pulled out his metamagic rod and channeled a scintillating sphere through it, blasting the deck of Hungai’s ship with an electric firestorm. Soldiers and crew fell dead all around the large man, tumbling out of the rigging and dropping off the side into the river. Hungai stood unmoving in the midst of the spell, looking displeased, and as the remaining crew scrambled to keep the ship under control, he pulled Razael’s arrow out of the mast and crushed it between his fingers.

“And stay out!” Kyle shouted at the retreating ships.

“I wanted the elephant,” Razael grumbled.

As Hungai’s ships vanished around the bend of the river, the party converged on the field of tentacles, which were slowly crushing the last three opponents. Kyle ended the spell, and the party rushed forward to subdue their prisoners. The two samurai surrendered their weapons without struggle, and were docile as Arrie bound them to a nearby tree. Lanara struggled fiercely, and had to be held tightly by Autumn and Maddie. The cansin spat curses at everyone, until finally Xu tore a strip of cloth off one of the dead samurai’s clothes and gagged her.

A short distance away, the cloaked figure reappeared, and slowly walked toward the party. As the group watched, the figure pulled back the hood, revealing a very familiar face.

“Lanara?” Autumn and Osborn gasped.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Lanara said. “I’m claiming the right to loot her.” She pointed at the struggling cansin.

Lanara didn’t look much like the person they were used to. She looked like she hadn’t slept or eaten well in weeks, and instead of her trademark skin-tight leathers she was dressed in an old, baggy shirt and trousers, as well as the worn grey cloak.

Razael looked back and forth between the two pink-haired women. “Is some of the stuff she has yours?” he asked.

“All of it’s mine,” Lanara snapped. “And who in blazes are you?”

“Name’s Razael Fletcher, pleased to meet you.”

Lanara decided to wait a bit to sort that bit out. “Well, I think you’ve all met my sister. I’m the real deal.”

“Sister?” Kyle and Autumn said in unison.

“Yeah, evidently Dad forgot to mention one or two things,” Lanara said.

“And you thought our family was dysfunctional,” Arrie said to Autumn.

The sentinel looked levelly at her sister. “We are.”

“Her name’s Aranal, evidently,” Lanara continued. “Mom was terribly original, huh? Seems she took off with her when she left Dad and me. Don’t really know what happened to her after that, other than she fell in with Hungai at some point. Bitch.”

Aranal began to struggle more, trying to shout more profanity through the gag.

“Kyle, is there something you can do to keep her quiet?” Lanara asked.

“Sure.” Kyle walked up and clubbed Aranal in the back of the head with his staff, knocking her unconscious.

“Works for me,” Lanara said, and she quickly began stripping the unconscious Aranal of her possessions.

“Lanara, where have you been all this time?” Autumn asked.

“With them,” Lanara pointed out where Hungai’s ships had disappeared.

“How did you escape?”

“They were kind of busy,” Lanara said, “looking for Xu, trying to get everyone on the ship, avoiding arrows and spells. Then they had a mysterious outbreak of rats.” She smiled. “Plus I sweet-talked one of the guards.” She hooked a thumb in her baggy shirt and held it out. “Tongues comes in so handy,” she said, her grin widening into a mischievous smirk. “Huh, Kyle?”

“Yeah, that’s the real Lanara,” Kyle said, “I can tell because I know no matter how I answer that, I end up looking bad.”

“So,” Razael said, “you’re the one that we thought that one was, that’s been traveling with us ever since I met you all.”

“You’re quick,” Lanara said, “and dirty.”

“You get used to it,” Osborn said.

“There’s only two or three layers on me right now,” Razael protested.

Lanara gestured, and instantly the dirt and grime covering the tracker fell away.

“Now, what’d you go and do that for?” Razael said.

“I wanted to see what you really look like,” Lanara replied casually. “If it bothers you, get more dirt.”

“It’s not like there’s a shortage,” Maddie said.

Lanara finished stripping her sister, and left her lying naked in the grass as she gathered up her belongings and walked into the woods. A few minutes later, she emerged, now dressed in her own clothes, and tossed her borrowed escape outfit onto the ground next to Aranal.

“She can have those, if someone would do me a favor and get her dressed.” She looked over at Razael, who was looking back and forth between Aranal and Lanara. “And don’t get any ideas.”

Maddie and Xu carried Aranal off to get her dressed and then tie her up. “Lanara,” Autumn asked, “What are we going to do with your evil twin?”

“Whatever you like,” Lanara replied. “I have all my things back, thank you. I have no family attachment to the woman, and she wasn’t terribly nice, especially during the ambush.”

“We should probably take all three prisoners back to Stacks for now,” Arrie said. “And I suggest we do it soon, or I’m going to get yelled at, a lot.”

“By whom?” Autumn asked.

“Herion. See, when we were in the city this morning, I sort of sent him a little message.” She held up her hand to show everyone the large diamond ring on her finger that Herion had given her when they were together in M’Dos. “The gist of it was, ‘In Stacks, about to start a war, will be in touch’. His response was, ‘wait there, I’m coming’.”

Autumn smiled. “I don’t think your husband will approve of the crown princess chasing off after the enemy army.”

“What of the dead?” Xu asked. “They fought and died with honor, and were not evil men, even if their master is. The custom in Xhintai is for fallen samurai to be buried with their weapons and armor.”

“That’s going to take a while,” Autumn said.

“In this case, a mass grave would be sufficient, if not entirely proper,” Xu said. “With the great fortune I have had today in once again avoiding Hungai’s grasp, I would not wish to ruin my karma by acting improperly.”

“Just to put in a word for Erito,” Maddie said, “I think that as the goddess of death, she’d want me to observe proper burial customs.”

“You sure?” Razael said, “some of that stuff looks valuable.”

“But is it worth the trouble?” Kyle said. “We don’t have to loot every corpse we run across, you know.”

“Why not?”

In the end, they voted and decided by a narrow margin to bury the dead samurai. The work went swiftly in the soft earth of the meadow, and they were able to return to Stacks before sunset. As the prisoners were led away by the town guard to the jail, the party gathered in the Dry Inkpot to celebrate Lanara’s return, and to fill her in on all that had transpired while she was gone. Lanara took the news that they planned to buy a ship and sail to the south pole rather hard, but a glass of wine or two helped ease the pain.

“I’m glad to have you back,” Kyle said. “Your sister was terribly grumpy.”

“And boozy,” Maddie added. “Lots of fun, though.”

“Well, I’d imagine hanging out with you all would turn anyone to drink,” Lanara said with a wink. “I’m sure she was fun for you all, though.”

Razael suddenly turned a slight shade of pink, more noticeable now that the obscuring layers of dirt were gone. “What?” Lanara asked, “why in the world would you be embarrassed?”

“Nothing,” Razael said, too fast and without looking the bard in the eye.

Autumn’s eyes widened. “Razael, did you sleep with Aranal?”

“No, no, no! Well, maybe.”

Lanara looked at Razael. “We’ll have to talk sometime, you and I.”

“Razael’s recreational activities aside,” Arrie said, “we still need to decide what to do with Aranal.”

“Well, actually,” Razael said, “I did have one idea, which I think might work out well…”


Aranal woke up slowly. Her head was pounding, and her mouth was dry. She looked around, unsure of where she was. She was indoors, and it felt like she was deep underground. She was lying with her head on a cold, granite desk, and all around her were stacks of papers. Two of the walls were comprised of drawers going from floor to ceiling.

Qin-Chu’s toes! Where did that wench of a sister dump me off? Aranal groaned as she sat up and took stock of her surroundings. Hungai had screwed up. What was he thinking, with that ‘I might restore the pink-haired one’ crap? Like that hadn’t given the whole thing away. She’d been forced to switch sides far too early. With the Ardaran gone, she’d had the rest fooled. The elven tracker hadn’t been much of a challenge to win over, and she was just about ready to make her next move, though she hadn’t decided whether to seduce the favored soul or the wizard next. She’d been leaning toward the wizard; she wanted to watch the sparks fly between him and the sentinel.

She stood up, and looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a simple brown robe, embroidered with dwarven runes. With her headache, it took her a minute to place the style. What in the world? Why am I wearing these robes? These are robes for an acolyte of…
Her train of thought was interrupted when the door opened, and Tolly Nightsleaving walked in. The Ardaran was dressed in his usual plate armor, though it was brightly polished, and a adamantine symbol had been grafted to the breastplate. A large maul was strapped to his back.

“You are awake,” Tolly said. “Good. There is much to do. I suggest you get to work.”

“What are you talking about, Tolly? It’s me, Lanara. I was attacked…”

“Save it.” Tolly snapped. “I know who you are.” He crossed the room, and put a gauntleted hand on top of one of the stacks of paper. “Start with these, and then work your way around the room clockwise. A proper acolyte would be able to finish in two weeks, but I expect that with the adjustment you’ll need to make, it will take you longer.”

“What will take me longer?” Aranal sneered.

“Filing, of course. You’ll be given the morning to do that, and then in the afternoon I will need you to copy some documentation from the archives. Which will have to be filed later, of course.”

“Yeah, right. You can shove your documents up your ass, Ardaran.” Aranal walked toward the door, pushing her way past Tolly. But when she reached the door, she found she couldn’t open it. It wasn’t that it was locked; in fact the door was still open a crack. She simply couldn’t make herself push the door open to leave.

“Sit down, you naïve child,” Tolly reprimanded. Aranal found herself turning around and sitting, even though part of her mind screamed at her to stop.

“As I said before, I know who you are, and I know your nature,” Tolly said. “My former adventuring companions were certain to fill me in on the details. You, Miss Aranal Rahila, are currently geased to serve as my personal assistant. Let me assure you that the enchantment was placed by one of the Prelate Council, and will be renewed regularly. And the wording is very carefully chosen, so do not expect to find a loophole any time soon.”

“I have powers of my own, you know,” Aranal said, eyes blazing. “I can do the same to you if I want.”

Tolly spread his arms wide, as if opening himself to attack. “Please, feel free.”

Aranal opened her mouth, ready to sing an ensorcelling song that would soon have this upstart crawling on his knees begging to do whatever she asked. But the words wouldn’t come.

Tolly almost smiled. “As I said, very carefully chosen.”

Aranal’s look of smug confidence began to waver. “Why me? Why this?”

“Why you is because of what you tried to do to my friends. Why this is because I found it might be useful in my new position to have someone close at hand who knew the mind of Chaos.”

“I’ll find a way to get out,” she said, but it was only a whisper.

“Perhaps,” Tolly said, “but not before you finish my filing.”

Tolly turned to leave, but stopped and turned in the doorway. “Oh, and you’ll be pleased to know that I made good use of the stonebreaker acid you gave to me.” He pointed to the stone arch above the door. Etched there in the stone was a short phrase in Common.

ORDER IS ETERNAL.

“Good morning to you, Acolyte Rahila,” Tolly said. “I will see you this afternoon.”

Tolly closed the door to Aranal’s screams. She picked up the stack of papers on her desk, holding them up over her head as if she were about to throw them at the door after Tolly. But tears sprung from her eyes as she realized she couldn’t make herself throw the papers.

Because, part of her own mind told her, that would get them all out of order.

Well, looks like I have a bit of catching up to do...

I'll go ahead and post all the missing stuff en masse, without editing - which means no italics, or colored fonts, and perhaps a few minor typos or discrepancies that I normally take care of when posting here.